‘Panama Canal belongs to Panamanians’: Mexican President supports Panama’s govt after Trump’s control threat

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, on Monday, December 23, supported the Panama government for standing up against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of reasserting control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, reported the news agency Reuters.

“Indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians,” said Sheinbaum during her regular morning press conference, quoted by the news agency. 

The Mexican President’s comments came a day after Trump accused Panama of charging high rates for using the passageway while speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona.

After the event, Trump posted an image on Truth Social of an American flag flying over a narrow body of water, commenting: “Welcome to the United States Canal!” as per the agency report.

Trump’s comments provided a rare example of a US leader saying that he can push a sovereign country to hand over territory, according to the agency report. 

Panama President’s take on Trump’s comments

President of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, also issued a statement via the social media platform X, standing up against Trump’s comments.

“I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable,” said Mulino in his public statement. 

President Mulino also highlighted the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977, agreeing the dissolution of the former Canal Zone, recognizing the Panamanian sovereignty and full transfer of the Canal to Panama, completed on December 31, 1999. 

“These treaties also established the permanent neutrality of the Canal, guaranteeing its open and safe operation for all nations, a treaty that has obtained the adhesion of more than 40 Nations. Any contrary position lacks validity or support on the faceoftheearth,” said Mulino in the statement.

On the rates front, the President said that the “rates are not a whim.” The rates are established looking at parameters like market conditions, international competition, operating costs and the maintenance and modernization needs of the waterway, according to the statement.