US President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to restore US control of the Panama Canal and accused Panama of charging excessive fees for use of the Central American Passage. The comments were sharply rebuked by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday, Trump also said he would not allow the canal to fall into the “wrong hands” and warned of possible Chinese influence on the passage.
China does not control or manage the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports at the canal’s entrances in the Caribbean and Pacific.
The president-elect’s comments came hours after he made a similar threat against Panama in a post on Truth Social on Saturday evening.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event organized by Turning Point, an allied conservative group. “Because we’re getting ripped off at the Panama Canal, just like we’re getting ripped off everywhere.”
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Trump’s comments were an extremely rare example of a U.S. politician saying he could pressure a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underscores an expected shift in U.S. diplomacy under Trump, who in the past has not shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with his counterparts.
“Panama’s fees are ridiculous and highly unfair,” Trump said.
“It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. We’re allowed to be treated fairly, and they didn’t treat us fairly.”
“If the moral and legal principles of this generous gesture of giving are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full, quickly and without questions.”
In a recorded message released by Panamanian President Mulino on Sunday afternoon, the head of state said that Panama’s independence is non-negotiable and that China has no influence on the management of the canal. He also defended the transit fees imposed by Panama, saying they were not set “on a whim.”
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue to belong (to Panama),” Mulino said in the statement released on X.
Several other Panamanian politicians, including opposition figures, also used social media to criticize Trump’s comments.
The United States largely built the canal and managed the area surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed two agreements in 1977 that paved the way for the canal to return to full Panamanian control. The United States handed over control of the passage in 1999 after a period of shared management.
The waterway, which allows up to 14,000 ships to transit per year, accounts for 2.5 percent of global maritime trade and is critical to U.S. imports of automobiles and commercial goods through container ships from Asia, as well as U.S. exports of goods, including Liquefied Natural Gas.
It’s not clear how Trump would try to regain control of the canal, and he would have no recourse under international law if he decided to force passage.
This is not the first time Trump has openly considered territorial expansion.
In recent weeks, he has repeatedly considered turning Canada into a U.S. federal state, although it is unclear how serious he is about it. During his first term, Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark. He was publicly rebuffed by Danish authorities before talks could take place.
