Panama President Jose Raul Murino has accused US Donald Trump of “lied” about Washington’s reclaiming the Panama Canal.
“Once again, President Trump is lying. The Panama Canal is not a recovery process,” Murino writes in X.
“On behalf of Panama and all Panama people, I reject this new humiliation for the truth and our dignity as a nation,” Murino wrote Wednesday.
“To further strengthen our national security, my administration has reclaimed the Panama Canal and has already begun it,” Trump said in a speech to Congress on Tuesday. “We’re getting it back.”
Trump’s comments said under pressure from Washington, Hong Kong company Hutchison has agreed to sell the lucrative Panama Canal Port to a US-led consortium.
CK Hutchison Holdings said it will offload 90% of the Panama Port Company (PPC) and sell many other non-Chinese ports to a group led by asset manager BlackRock.
Sellers will receive $19 billion in cash, the company said.
CK Hutchison argued that the deal had nothing to do with Trump’s pledge to “recover” the canal, but few in Panama believed this was true.
Hutchison’s subsidiary, PPC has been operating ports in Balboa and Cristobal at the edges of inter-ocean waterways in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans for decades.
However, since taking office in January, Trump has complained that China controls the canal. This is a key strategic asset the United States once ran.
He refused to rule out Panama’s military aggression to regain control, causing angry protests and complaints by the Central American nations against the United Nations.
Since 1999, the canal has been operated by the Panama Canal Bureau (ACP). This is an autonomous organization whose board of directors has been appointed by the President of Panama and the National Assembly.
The 80km (50 miles) long canal handles 5% of the world’s maritime trade and 40% of US container traffic.
Beijing has consistently denied interference in the canal.
“The canal is 100% operated by the Panama people. Ilya Espino de Marotta, assistant manager of the Panama Canal, told the Guardian in January: “There is no Chinese management of the canal.”
