Mr. Trump wants to 'reclaim' the Panama Canal

US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to take back control of the Panama Canal because the Central American country charges too high tolls for ships.

President-elect Trump on December 22 accused Panama of charging unfairly high fees to US ships and threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal, according to Reuters.

"Has anyone heard of the Panama Canal? We are being ripped off at the Panama Canal just like we are ripped off everywhere else. It was given to Panama and the Panamanian people, but with terms. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this noble gesture are not followed, we will take the Panama Canal back, completely, quickly, and without question," Trump told supporters in Arizona.

Mr. Trump said the US could reclaim the Panama Canal.

According to Politico, the US helped Panama gain independence from Colombia in the early 20th century to build the Panama Canal, connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. For decades, the US controlled the canal and a surrounding territory.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at an event in Arizona on December 22.

In 1977, the administration of US President Jimmy Carter signed two treaties with military leader Omar Torrijos, which handed over control of the canal to Panama in 1999 while the US reserved the right to intervene militarily to ensure the canal's neutrality. Analysts do not believe the treaties contain provisions allowing the US to take back the canal.

Container ship moves through the Panama Canal in August

Mr Trump said the US "built" and "used" the canal and gave it to Panama as a "symbol of cooperation". However, he criticized the Central American country for treating the US unfairly. "Our navy and merchant ships have been treated in a very unfair and unwise way. The fees charged by Panama are ridiculous and very unfair, especially given the enormous generosity shown to Panama. This exploitation will stop immediately," Mr Trump declared, adding that the canal would not fall into the control of the "wrong people", implying foreign interference.

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Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino later countered that the country's independence was non-negotiable and that no country could influence the management of the canal. He also insisted that canal tolls for ships were not set at will.

"Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will remain so," President Mulino wrote on his social media account X, to which Mr Trump responded: "We will see."

The Panama Canal is about 80 km long, allowing 14,000 ships to pass through each year, accounting for 2.5% of global seaborne trade.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-trump-muon-doi-lai-kenh-dao-panama-185241223065420304.htm