Politics Panama: Trump lies about the canal again
Panama's government has accused US President Donald Trump of making false statements about returning the Panama Canal to the United States. "President Trump is lying again," wrote the head of state of the Central American country, José Raúl Mulino, on Platform X. Trump's aim to regain control of the waterway was not a topic of discussion with Washington.
05.03.2025, 18:44
SDA
In his speech to the US Congress, Trump repeated his claims to the Panama Canal. He had previously also repeatedly claimed that China had too much influence over the canal. In front of the US Congress, Trump assured the audience that his government had already started to reclaim the canal. He cited the fact that the US financial firm Blackrock is now to take control of two important ports on the Panama Canal as part of a deal with a company from Hong Kong as a sign of this.
According to Panama, however, this is only a deal between private companies as part of a global transaction. This is motivated by mutual interests. Panama's government has said several times that Chinese companies have no direct influence on the operation of the canal itself. "The canal is Panamanian and will remain Panamanian!" Mulino continued to write on X on Wednesday.
The waterway at the narrowest point in Central America, which is important for international trade, connects the Atlantic with the Pacific. It was built by the USA at the beginning of the 20th century and has been managed exclusively by Panama since 1999.
