President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage and drawing a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, APA reports citing Reuters.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday, Trump also said he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," warning of potential Chinese influence on the passage.
China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings (0001.HK), opens new tab has long managed two ports located on the Caribbean and Pacific entrances to the canal.
The president-elect's comments came hours after he leveled a similar threat against Panama in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night.
"Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?" Trump said on Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event organized by Turning Point, an allied conservative group. "Because we're being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we're being ripped off everywhere else."
Trump's comments were an exceedingly rare example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in U.S. diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.
"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair," Trump said.
"It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. You get to treat us fairly, and they haven't treated us fairly. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question."
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