“It will continue to be Panamanian,” says the Panama Canal in response to President Trump
Newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump vowed to take back the Panama Canal in his inaugural address on Monday, invoking the 19th-century expansionist doctrine of “Manifest Destiny”.
Trump, doubling down on his pre-inaugural threat to reassert US control of the canal, again accused Panama of reneging on promises made in 1999 to finally hand over the strategic waterway and hand over its operation to China — claims the Panamanian government has vehemently denied. .
“We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we’re taking it back,” Trump said.
He did not elaborate on when or how he intended to do so, but refused to rule out the possible use of military force, which has previously drawn criticism from Washington’s Latin American friends and foes.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino responded on Monday X that his country responsibly manages the canal for world trade, including for the United States, and that it “is and will continue to be Panamanian.”
Trump’s reiteration of his threat over the Panama Canal as he begins his second term is the clearest indication of the territorial expansion agenda he has laid out in recent weeks.
On the eve of his inauguration, he said he wanted to acquire Greenland, that the Danish overseas territory was important to US national security interests, and that he was considering making Canada a US state.
“We will continue our open destiny”
Critics have accused Trump of using language that evokes modern imperialism, suggesting that such rhetoric could encourage Russia to invade Ukraine and justify China if it decides to invade self-ruled Taiwan.
Some analysts question whether Trump is as serious about the land grab as critics say he is, and think he may take an extreme negotiating position to squeeze further concessions. During his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump was known for making some headline-grabbing threats and statements that he failed to deliver.
President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Panama Canal is “vital” to the United States and that deals signed by former President Jimmy Carter to give control of the canal to the Central American country were a “huge mistake.”
Unless Trump mentions Greenland or anything Canada In his inaugural address, he hinted at his territorial aspirations for a second four-year term.
“The United States will once more consider itself a nation that grows, increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag to new and beautiful horizons.”
“And we will take our manifest destiny to the stars by sending American astronauts into space to plant stars and stripes on Mars,” he said.
Manifest Destiny, a phrase originally coined in the mid-1800s, was a belief in the God-ordained right of the United States to expand its control over all of North America, and was used to justify the seizure of land from Mexico and Native Americans.
In his speech on Monday, Trump also repeated his promise to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Former first lady and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton laughed when US President Donald Trump announced that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America during his inauguration speech.
Trump said that the United States “stupidly” gave the Panama Canal to Panama.
The United States largely built the canal and controlled the area surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed a pair of agreements in 1977 that paved the way for the return of the canal to full Panamanian control. The United States handed it over in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
“We have been treated very badly and Panama’s promise to us has been broken by this stupid gift that should never have been given. The purpose of our agreement and the spirit of our agreement has been completely violated,” Trump said.
He said U.S. ships were “severely overloaded and treated fairly in no way, shape or form.”
Panama has insisted that all ships passing through the canal are treated fairly, saying China has no control over its management.
China does not control or operate the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings 0001.HK has long operated two ports on the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.
The canal is an 82-kilometer man-made waterway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through Panama and is important for US imports of automobiles and commercial goods by container ships from Asia and US exports of goods, including liquefied natural gas.
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