Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday denied negotiating with US President-elect Donald Trump over control of the Panama Canal and denied that China was interfering in canal operations.
Mulino also ruled out reducing tolls for U.S. ships in response to President Trump’s threat to return control of the vital waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to Washington.
“I have nothing to talk about,” Mulino told a news conference.
“This canal belongs to Panama, it belongs to the Panamanian people. There is no possibility of starting some kind of dialogue around this reality that this country has spent so much blood, sweat and tears on,” he added.
The canal, which opened in 1914 and was built by the United States, was closed on December 31, 1999 under a treaty signed 20 years earlier by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos. Extradited to Panama.
President Trump on Saturday denounced “ridiculous” fees for U.S. ships passing through the canal and hinted at China’s growing influence.
“Panama alone is in control of this, not China or anyone else,” Trump said in a post on his platform Truth Social. “We will never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
If Panama cannot ensure the canal’s “safe, efficient and reliable operation,” “we will demand the full and unquestioned return of the Panama Canal,” he said.
President Trump on Wednesday nominated Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as ambassador to Panama.
President Trump described Cabrera as a “fierce fighter for America First” and said he worked to promote economic growth and promote international cooperation.
An estimated 5% of the world’s maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, allowing ships traveling between Asia and the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous sea route around the southern tip of South America.
The US is the main user, accounting for 74% of cargo, followed by China with 21%.
Mulino said the canal’s fees are “not set at the whim of a president or administrator” of the interoceanic waterway, but are set based on a long-established “public and open process.” said.
“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything related to the Panama Canal,” Mulino said.
On Wednesday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Chinese soldiers are “lovingly but illegally running the Panama Canal,” without evidence.
Mulino also denied the allegations.
“For the love of God, there are no Chinese soldiers in the canal,” he added.
After severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Panama established diplomatic relations with China in 2017, a decision that was criticized by the first Trump administration. Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Panama City on Tuesday, chanting “Trump, animals, leave the canal alone” and burning an effigy of the incoming U.S. president.
