Trump and Mulino belong to Rip because of the canal
In his inaugural address on Capitol Hill on January 20, 2025, US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim from last month that the Panama Canal is under Chinese control.
Trump claimed that the Panama Canal was operated by China, the United States did not give it to China, it was given to Panama, and now we are taking it back.
Later, Panamanian President Mulino explicitly rejected the US President's statement on the canal in a statement. "I must completely reject the statements made by President Donald Trump in his inaugural address regarding Panama and its canal."
"The Canal is and will remain Panama's, and its management will always be under Panama's control and permanently neutral," he said. No country in the world interferes in our management, and the canal is not a concession for anyone."
The Panama Canal, managed by the Panamanian government through the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), connects Asia with the east coast of the Americas, was originally built and controlled by the United States and opened to navigation in 1914.
In 1977, the United States and Panama signed the Panama Canal Treaty and the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal. According to the treaty, on December 31, 1999, Panama fully recovered the management and defense rights of the canal, and all U.S. troops stationed in the canal zone were withdrawn.
Mulino said that since the canal's return to Panama in 1999, "Panama has managed and expanded the canal in a responsible manner to serve the world and its trade, including the United States." He noted that dialogue was always the right way to clarify issues. Mulino stressed that the management and operation of the canal had been successfully controlled by the Panamanian government and that any attempt to interfere would be strongly opposed. At the same time, Panamanian citizens generally believe that the ownership of the canal is regarded as an important symbol of national independence and dignity.
