President of Panama: 'The canal is and will remain Panama's'

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino says his nation intends to maintain control of the Panama Canal, after President Trump reiterated his intent to take control of the strategic waterway in his inaugural address.

Mulino rejected Trump’s vow to retake the canal “in the name of the Republic of Panama and its people" in a statement Monday.

“The Canal is and will remain Panama’s and its administration will remain under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality,” said Mulino.

Trump’s pledge to take control of the canal has been a central theme of his postcampaign rhetoric, paired with expansionist designs on Greenland, a Danish overseas territory, and apparent tongue-in-cheek references to making Canada the "51st state."

But at his inaugural festivities, Trump grounded his aspirations on the canal on supposed Chinese control of the installation.

“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,” he said.

Panama has full control of the canal itself, but Hutchison Ports PPC, a Hong Kong-based company, controls two ports at either end of the canal. While Hutchison and CK Hutchison Holdings, its parent company, are not owned by the Chinese government, they are subject to the national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020.

“There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,” said Mulino, who also took objection to the idea that the United States "gave" the canal to Panama.

“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 added.

Mulino, who is expected to play a key role managing migration northward from South America through Panama’s infamous Darién Gap, suggested international law, an unpopular idea in Trumpism, as the appropriate venue to air out any grievances.

“Dialogue is always the way to clear up the stated issues without undermining our rights, total sovereignty and property of our Canal,” said Mulino.

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