Panama's president rejects Trump's threat to retake control of canal

Mulino said Sunday in a video he published on his X account that the canal belongs to Panama.

“As president, I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama and will remain so. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”

On Saturday, Trump accused Panama of charging "exorbitant prices" to American ships and demanded the Central American country to reduce the fees or return the canal to US control.

Trump said the canal was “not given for Panama to charge the United States, its navy or corporations doing business within our country exorbitant prices and rates of passage. Our navy and commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way.”

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.”

Mulino said the rates to use the canal were “established publicly and in an open hearing, considering market conditions, international competition, operating costs and the maintenance and modernization needs of the interoceanic route.”

Trump also alleged that China is involved in the canal’s management.

"The canal is not under direct or indirect control, neither by China nor by the European community, by the United States or by any other power,” Mulino said, without explicitly mentioning Trump. “As a Panamanian, I strongly reject any statement that distorts this reality."

The Panamanian head of state said that "Panama respects other nations and demands respect" and that with the new US government, he hopes "to preserve and maintain a respectful relationship."

Mulino said that security issues such as illegal migration, drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime must be the priority on the bilateral agenda. Thousands of irregular migrants travel through the Darien jungle in Panama every year on their way to the United States.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro reacted to the message in defense of the Central American country. Petro said in a message on X that he will be “on the side of Panama and the defense of its sovereignty until the last consequences.”

“If the new US government wants to talk business, we will talk business, face to face, and for the benefit of our people, but dignity will never be negotiated," Petro wrote on his X account.

The Panama Canal, completed by the US in 1914, was returned to Panama under a 1977 agreement signed by US President Jimmy Carter.

Panama regained full control of the commercial passage on Dec. 31, 1999.