On Thursday, Panama firmly rejected the United States’ assertion that it had obtained free passage for its government vessels through the Panama Canal.
Speaking to the press, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino condemned the U.S. statement regarding the waterway as intolerable, emphasizing his refusal to base bilateral relations on lies and falsehoods.
Since winning the U.S. election in November, President Donald Trump has refused to rule out the use of force to seize the canal, which was built by Washington over a century ago and later handed over to Panama. Approximately 40 percent of U.S. container traffic passes through this narrow body of water connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.
The latest dispute between Panama and Washington emerged after the U.S. State Department claimed that Panama had agreed to allow free passage for U.S. government vessels through the canal following discussions between Mulino and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last weekend.
In a post on X, the State Department stated that this decision would save the U.S. government millions of dollars annually. However, the Panama Canal Authority, which oversees the waterway, swiftly denied the claim, asserting that it had not made any changes to its tariffs.
U.S. government vessels, primarily from the navy, account for a small portion of the ships traversing the canal. Trump has vocally complained that U.S. vessels are being overcharged to use the route.
Both Trump and Rubio have expressed concerns about Chinese investments in the canal, with a subsidiary of a Hong Kong firm operating ports on the waterway. They warned that Beijing could potentially close the canal to the United States during a crisis.
In response, Panama has strongly denied Trump’s claim that China has any role in managing the canal.
