Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino promptly responded in a statement to President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech claims that China was secretly operating the Panama Canal. “We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” said Trump. Mulino pushed back: “The Canal was not a concession from anyone. It was the result of generational struggles that peaked in 1999, as a product of the Torrijos-Carter treaty, and from then to now, for 25 years, in an uninterrupted fashion, we have managed it and expanded it with responsibility to serve the world and its commerce, including the United States.” He declared, “The Canal is and will remain Panama’s and its administration will remain under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality.” Leading up to his inauguration, Trump has doubled down on his desire to “take back” the Canal under U.S. control, claiming that American ships are being overcharged to use the waterway. In his statement, Mulino suggested that he was open to a dialogue about his claims, adding, “Dialogue is always the way to clear up the stated issues without undermining our rights, total sovereignty and property of our Canal.”
