Panama’s Mulino Challenges Trump’s Remarks on Reclaiming the Panama Canal

President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office was marked by a foreign policy that involved cozying up to authoritarian adversaries while attacking allies.

He drew criticism for his fawning admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. His second term hasn’t even started yet, but it looks to be more of the same.

Trump’s already talked about meeting with his “good friend” Vladimir Putin, telling Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest:

“President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, he attacked Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Greenland with threats of invasion or annexation in speeches and through social media posts.

Regarding Panama, on Saturday Trump posted:

“The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that was always understood. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!”

“It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.”

“To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!”

Trump also told the AmericaFest crowd in Arizona:

“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else.

“[The United States] foolishly gave it away.”

“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.”

He also falsely claimed China was controlling the canal. Unwilling to be bullied by Trump or to allow him to spout revisionist history and lies unchallenged, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded to the threat with a video message posted to X.

You can watch it with English subtitles here:

“As President, I want to express clearly that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama, and will continue to do so.”

“The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”

The Panama Canal—a 51-mile (82km) artificial waterway connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific—was begun by colonizing forces at the end of the 19th century, cutting through the foreign occupied Panama Isthmus which was controlled by Colombia at the time. France started work on the canal in 1881, then stopped in 1889 due to engineering problems, a high worker mortality rate, and funding issues.

A canal saved ships a perilous journey around the southern tip of South America, making it especially important to industries shipping goods from the Americas to global markets.

So the United States began their work on the project in 1904—after supporting Panama’s independence from Colombia—with the canal opening in 1914. The United States continued their occupation of Panama to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for return of the land to the people of Panama.

After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, Panama reclaimed their unceded territory in 1999. The canal is now managed and operated through the Panamanian government-owned Panama Canal Authority.

Trump responded Sunday in the manner people have come to expect—a pair of petulant Truth Social posts.