A cargo ship transits the Panama Canal in Panama City, on March 12, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Panama City:

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out negotiations with the United States over ownership of the Panama Canal as he prepares to host Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump, in his inaugural address on January 20, alleged that China was effectively “operating” the waterway which the United States handed to the Central American nation in 1999.

“We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said.

But Mulino said opening negotiations on ownership of the canal “is impossible.”

“I cannot negotiate, much less open a process of negotiations on the canal. That (the matter) is sealed. The canal is Panama’s,” he said at his weekly press conference.

Panama, long a friend of the United States, has complained to the United Nations over Trump’s threat.

Nevertheless, Mulino said there are common issues such as migration and the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking that he would be happy to discuss with Rubio when he visits in the coming days.

“We are more than willing to talk with respect and very clearly… with the secretary of state,” said the president, without giving a date for the meeting.

Rubio’s first trip abroad as Trump’s top envoy will take him to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

The visit comes amid high tension between Latin America and Washington over Trump’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, most of whom come from the region.

Despite the strain, Mulino stressed that Panama had a “privileged relationship” with the United States, “not China.”

“The relationship with the United States is strong, it has always been so, there have been ups and downs, love and hate, but there has always been a strong relationship that… has allowed us to overcome very, very complicated situations,” he said.

Constructed by the United States and opened in 1914, the canal was administered by America until 1977, when treaties were signed under then-US president Jimmy Carter for its handover to Panama.

Since 1999, the canal has been managed by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) — an autonomous entity whose board of directors is appointed by the legislature and president of Panama.

In the eye of the storm is the private Panama Ports Company — a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings — which was granted a concession to operate ports on either extreme of the 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway.

The PPC does not make any decision on shipping routes.

The ports “are not under the control of governments or military forces of any nation,” insisted Mulino, who also rejected any suggestion of interference in the canal’s administration.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would travel to Panama and several other countries in the region later next week, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

“Secretary Rubio will travel to Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic starting late next week,” State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

Rubio, 53, was sworn in as the Secretary of State on Tuesday. He had his first multilateral meeting with his counterparts from Quad countries – Australia, India and Japan. He had his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

On Wednesday, Rubio had telephonic calls with his counterparts from over half a dozen countries, including South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia. He also spoke with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A cargo ship sails towards the Bridge of the Americas, which spans the entrance to the Panama Canal, after newly sworn-in U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks during his inauguration speech, when he vowed that the United States would take back the canal, in Panama City, Panama January 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Panama has complained to the United Nations over U.S. President Donald Trump’s “worrying” threat to seize the Panama Canal, even as it launched an audit of the Hong Kong-linked operator of two ports on the interoceanic waterway.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the government in Panama City referred to an article of the U.N. Charter precluding any member from “the threat or use of force” against the territorial integrity or political independence of another.

The missive, distributed to reporters on Tuesday (January 21, 2025), urges Mr. Guterres to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council, without asking for a meeting to be convened.

Mr. Trump, in his inaugural address Monday, repeated his complaint that China was effectively “operating” the Panama Canal through its growing presence around the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999.

“We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Mr. Trump said.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino hit back that the canal was not a gift from the United States during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“We reject in its entirety everything that Mr Trump has said. First because it is false and second because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama,” Mr. Mulino said on Wednesday (January 22, 2025).

The President has previously denied that any other nation was interfering in the canal, which he said was operated on a principle of neutrality.

Asked on Wednesday (January 22, 2025) about the spat, Beijing denied it had ever “interfered” in the canal.

“China has always respected Panama’s sovereignty over the canal and recognized the canal as a permanent neutral international waterway,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

U.S. pressure

The Panamanian comptroller’s office that oversees public entities announced “an exhaustive audit” would be launched “aimed at ensuring the efficient and transparent use of public resources” at the Panama Ports Company.

The company, part of Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either end of the canal.

The comptroller’s office said the aim was to determine whether the company was complying with its concession agreements, including adequate reporting of income, payments and contributions to the state.

Hutchison Ports PPC said in a statement that it has “maintained and will continue to maintain a transparent and collaborative relationship” with Panamanian authorities.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to comply with all laws and regulations, fully exercising our contractual responsibilities,” the firm said.

“Our financial results, audited by an independent external auditor, have been shared annually with our partner, the Panamanian State, ensuring trust and clarity in our management.”

Mr. Trump has been raising pressure for weeks over the canal, through which 40% of U.S. container traffic travels. He has refused to rule out using military force to reclaim it.

The Panama Ports Company’s concession agreement was extended by 25 years in 2021.

The United States is the canal’s main user, followed by China.

Since 2000, the waterway has contributed more than $30 billion to Panama’s state coffers, including nearly $2.5 billion in the last fiscal year.

Davos:

The Panama Canal was not a gift from the United States, President Jose Raul Mulino said Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump threatened to take it back.

“We reject in its entirety everything that Mr Trump has said. First because it is false and second because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama,” Mulino said during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“The Panama Canal was not a concession or a gift from the United States.”

Trump, in his inaugural address Monday, repeated his accusation that China was “operating” the Panama Canal through its growing presence around the waterway.

“We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said.

The canal, inaugurated in 1914, was built by the United States but handed to Panama on December 31, 1999, under treaties signed some two decades earlier.

Panama has complained to the United Nations over Trump’s remarks, referring to an article of the UN Charter precluding any member from “the threat or use of force” against the territorial integrity or political independence of another.

China also said Wednesday that it had “never interfered in the affairs of the canal”.

Mulino was defiant, saying he was “not worried” and Panama would not be “distracted by this type of statement”.

“One cannot skip over public international law to impose criteria,” he said.

“But it also leads us to think that from this — let’s call it the crisis — there must also be opportunities to work on other issues that interest us with the United States.”

This could include security issues as well as migration, since Panama faces its own challenges on the border with Colombia, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

President Donald Trump on Monday cast himself as a peacemaker in his second inaugural address, but immediately vowed that the United States would be “taking back” the Panama Canal.

Trump issued the threat, without explaining details, after weeks of refusing to rule out military action against Panama over the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999.

“Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said after being sworn in inside the US Capitol.

Panama maintains control of the canal but Chinese companies have been steadily increasing their presence around the vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Panama denies that China has any role in running the canal, and has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over the waterway since Trump first threatened to take it over after he was elected in November.

At his inauguration, Trump said that the United States has been “treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made.”

“The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy,” he said.

Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, stopped short of threatening military action during his confirmation hearing last week but warned that China through its influence could effectively shut down the Panama Canal to the United States in a crisis.

“This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” Rubio said.

Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark where Russia has been increasingly active as ice melts due to climate change.

The Panama Canal was built by the United States mostly with Afro-Caribbean labor and opened in 1914.

US President Jimmy Carter, who died last month, negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.

‘Peacemaker and unifier’ 

Trump pledged an “America First” policy of prioritizing US interests above all else. He has put a top priority on cracking down on undocumented immigration and said he will deploy the military to the border with Mexico.

But Trump also cast himself as a peacemaker and pointed to a Gaza ceasefire deal whose implementation began Sunday.

“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be — a peacemaker and a unifier,” he said.

The Gaza ceasefire, which includes an exchange of hostages and prisoners, follows the outlines of a proposal outlined in May by then-president Joe Biden, but it was pushed through after intensive last-minute diplomacy by envoys of both Biden and Trump.

Trump has also promised to end the war in Ukraine by pushing for compromises — a contrast to Biden’s approach of supporting Kyiv to a potential military victory.

Despite Trump’s vow to be a unifier, he immediately fired a symbolic but provocative shot above the bow to Mexico.

Trump in his address said that the United States would start referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” — making the water body the latest in the world whose name is disputed between neighbors.

“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” Trump said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday dismissed as bluster President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to seize the Panama Canal, instead anticipating a more traditional strategy of diversifying supply chains.

“On the Panama Canal, we have a treaty, we have a settled policy of many years, and that’s not going to change,” Blinken said at a farewell news conference.

“I think it doesn’t warrant spending a lot of time talking about it,” he said of Trump’s threats.

At a freewheeling news conference this month in Florida, Trump refused to rule out using force to seize the Panama Canal and even Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Trump has pointed to rising Chinese influence in the Panama Canal, inaugurated in 1914 and built by the United States, mostly with Afro-Caribbean labor.

Panama took full control of the canal at the end of 1999 under a deal shepherded by late president Jimmy Carter, who saw a moral responsibility to treat Panama more respectfully.

Alluding to concerns about China’s clout in industry around the world, Blinken said that President Joe Biden’s administration has made “extraordinary progress” in seeking “a greater diversity of supply chains.”

“So that’s where the focus should be, and that’s where I expect the focus actually will be,” Blinken said.

But Marco Rubio, tapped by Trump as the next secretary of state, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday: “This is not a joke. The Panama Canal issue is a very serious one.”

He asked whether Chinese companies could take control of surrounding ports and, under orders of Beijing, decide to “shut it down or impede our transit.”

“This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” Rubio said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Panama City:

 Hundreds of Panamanians marched on Thursday to mark the anniversary of a deadly uprising against U.S. control of the Panama Canal in 1964, with some protesters burning an effigy of President-elect Donald Trump who has threatened to retake the vital global waterway.

More than 20 Panamanians, many of them students, died during violent clashes across the country in January 1964, which escalated after U.S. security forces opened fire in response to mass demonstrations against the U.S. presence in the country and control of the canal. At least three U.S. soldiers also died.

The incident, remembered every January 9 as “Martyrs’ Day,” is regarded as paving the way for the eventual transfer of the canal to Panama in 1999. It also serves as a reminder of a bloody past that still dominates national feeling over the canal in Panama, at a time of rising tension with Trump.

“Today is a day to remember the sacrifice of our martyrs, but also to say to the world that Panama is sovereign and the canal is ours,” said Sebastian Quiroz, an 84-year-old retired unionist who was a student during the uprising.

The marching crowd chanted “spilled blood will never be forgotten” and “hands off Panama” as they approached the monument of the eternal flame, built to remember those that died in 1964. Earlier in the day President Jose Raul Mulino laid a wreath at the site in a formal ceremony.

Trump on Tuesday refused to rule out using military or economic pressure to seize control of the canal, an 82-km (51-mile) artificial waterway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that is a core international shipping route.

The president-elect has criticized the cost of moving goods through the canal and derided Chinese influence in the area. China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports located on the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.

Panama has strongly rebuked Trump’s threats.

“The only hands that control the canal are Panamanian and that’s how it will continue,” Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha told reporters on Tuesday.

Ivan Quintero, a 59-year-old university worker attending the march, said no government could take away what Panamanians had fought so long for.

“Mr. Trump has been very disrespectful in threatening to take the canal away from us,” he said. “He has to learn to show respect.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Granting Donald Trump’s demand for US ships passing through the Panama Canal to get preferential treatment would “lead to chaos,” the head of the authority running the waterway said Wednesday.

“Rules are rules and there are no exceptions,” Panama Canal Authority leader Ricuarte Vasquez Morales told the Wall Street Journal.

“We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else,” he said in an interview with the US financial daily. “This will violate the neutrality treaty, international law and it will lead to chaos.”

The United States built, owned and operated the Central American canal until US president Jimmy Carter struck a deal in the 1970s to gradually hand over control of the vital waterway to the Panamanian authorities.

US President-elect Trump has taken to speaking out against the deal, refusing on Tuesday to rule out using military action to take it.

The Republican has also threatened to seize Greenland, and to use “economic force” against neighboring Canada.

One of Trump’s fiercest criticisms of the Panama Canal is that it is effectively controlled by China — an accusation Vasquez Morales said was “unfounded.”

“China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

While a Chinese company operates two ports on either end of the canal, the canal itself is run by the Panama Canal Authority.

Vasquez Morales insisted that the Panama Canal Authority does not charge US ships higher rates than anyone else.

The only exception to its rules, he added, was that US Navy vessels get priority treatment as part of the agreement struck in the 1970s, allowing them to swiftly travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Emboldened by his victory in the U.S. presidential polls, Donald Trump has drummed up his rhetoric of belligerence by announcing plans to annex Canada and Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal. While the U.S. has not historically shied away from coveting the two northern territories, threatening to renege on a deal that ceded Washington’s control of the canal to Panama has been strictly the brainchild of the President-elect.

Panama Canal is an 82-km-long strategic waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It helps ships do away with the need to go around the South American tip of Cape Horn, saving 13,000 km and days of journey. Consequently, the canal facilitates the passage of over 14,000 ships a year.

The 78-year-old Republican first spelt out his plans for the canal during a speech at a Conservative event in Arizona and subsequently on his social media platform Truth Social. “We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” he said, referring to the increased shipping rates, while speaking at AmericaFest on Sunday (December 22). “It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question.” Mr. Trump also warned of said while of warning about the growing “Chinese influence” in the region. Later, Mr. Trump posted a photo on Truth Social of the U.S. flag flying over the narrow waterway in the Isthmus of Panama. The caption read “Welcome to the United States Canal”.

In its response, the Central American nation said, “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging (to Panama).” The country’s President Jose Raul Mulino decried Chinese presence and stated that shipping rates were not set on a whim. Mr. Trump’s remarks also angered the Panamanians who took to the U.S. embassy calling out “Trump, animal, leave the canal alone” and burning his image.

Mr. Trump’s grief in the matter is understandable for the U.S., whose ships constitute 74% of the traffic in the canal, is its biggest benefactor, followed by China at 21%. If not for the canal, ships traversing the east and west coasts of the U.S. would have to undertake an additional 22 days of voyage. In historical context, The canal also came to the aid of the Allies during the Second World War.

What began as a French project in 1880 under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had built the Suez Canal, soon fell apart due to unforeseen difficulties. Americans stepped in to complete the canal but Colombia, which ruled over Panama, did not favour the idea. By orchestrating independence from Colombia, then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt secured a deal whereby Panama gave his country control over a 16-km wide strip of land to build the canal in exchange for monetary compensation.

Lock technology

The canal entered into operation in 1914. By using a technology comprising a series of locks, it revolutionised shipping. However, a dispute over the ownership and administration soon broke out between the U.S. and Panama, which eventually led to a direct clash in 1964 costing the lives of 28 people. In 1977, then President Jimmy Carter (despite opposition from the Senate) and Panama’s military leader Omar Torrijos signed two treaties — the Permanent Neutrality Treaty and the Panama Canal treaty that saw the U.S. hand over the control of the canal to Panama in 1999.

The former agreement grants the U.S. the authority to ensure the canal remains free and open without giving it the power to interfere in Panama. The latter ensured that Washington transferred the canal to Panama by December 31, 1999.

Since 2000, Panama has overseen the administration of the canal. However, the region, one of the wettest until recently, experienced a rainfall deficit in 2022. Gatun Lake, which provides the 200 million litres of water needed for each ship to transit the canal, experienced a drop in water levels, prompting authorities to increase shipping charges starting in 2025. Mr. Trump has objected to this.

His allegation of Chinese influence pertains to the Hong Kong-based company C.K. Hutchison Holdings, which manages two of the five ports in the region — one on each side of the canal. Bolstering his claim further was Panama’s 2017 decision to cut ties with Taiwan.

Growing tensions between the U.S. and Panama might not align with Mr. Trump’s top policy priorities such as stopping illegal migration from South America, warn experts.