Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino released a scathing video on Sunday in which he signaled that his country would never relinquish control over the U.S.-built Panama Canal.
Mulino’s video came after President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Saturday that the U.S. would take back the canal unless the country stopped ripping off U.S. companies and the U.S. Navy.
“As President, I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be,” Mulino claimed. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”
He claimed that the U.S.-built Panama Canal, which the U.S. controlled until President Jimmy Carter gave it away, was part of the country’s “history of struggle and an irreversible conquest.”
He said that the canal brings Panama’s economy “billions of dollars” per year.
“Rates are not a whim,” he claimed. “They are and will be established, publicly and in an open audience, considering market conditions, international competition, operating costs and the maintenance and modernization needs of the interoceanic waterway.”
He claimed that the country would never give up control of the canal, even though Panama does not have a military and would be facing the most powerful fighting force the world has ever seen: the U.S. military.
He said that he wanted a “good and respectful relationship” with the U.S. and believed that “issues such as illegal migration, drug trafficking and organized crime must be a priority on our bilateral agenda.”
🇵🇦 Mensaje del Presidente José Raúl Mulino 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/DMXU8qAuNT
— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) December 22, 2024
Related: Trump: Panama Must Stop ‘Ripping Off’ U.S. Or America Will Take Panama Canal Back
