Trump reiterates threat to retake Panama Canal ‘or something very powerful’ will happen
Samantha Waldenberg and Michael Rios,
CNN
Sun, February 2, 2025
President Donald Trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal on Sunday, warning of “powerful” US action in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the Central American country over China’s presence around the vital waterway.
“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
Hours earlier, the diplomatic stir caused by Trump’s repeated and publicly stated desire for the US to retake control of the canal had appeared to ease after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat, met with Panama’s President Raúl Mulino.
Though Mulino told Rubio that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal was not up for debate, he also said he had addressed Washington’s concerns over Beijing’s purported influence around the waterway.
Panama would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s overseas development initiative, known as the Belt and Road initiative, Mulino said, also suggesting that the deal with Beijing could end early.
Mulino told reporters that Panama will seek to work with the US on new investments, including infrastructure projects. “I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible US investments in Panama,” he said.
During the meeting, Rubio told Panama’s president and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha that concerns over China’s “control” of the Panama Canal may mean the US has to “take measures necessary to protect its rights” per a longstanding treaty on the neutrality and operation of the canal.
The canal was returned to Panama under a 1977 treaty, which allows the US to intervene militarily if the waterway’s operations are disrupted by internal conflict or a foreign power. Today, more cargo than ever runs through the canal than it did during the years of US control.
Mulino said Sunday he doesn’t think there is a real risk that the US would use military force to retake the canal.
Sun, February 2, 2025
President Donald Trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal on Sunday, warning of “powerful” US action in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the Central American country over China’s presence around the vital waterway.
“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
Hours earlier, the diplomatic stir caused by Trump’s repeated and publicly stated desire for the US to retake control of the canal had appeared to ease after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat, met with Panama’s President Raúl Mulino.
Though Mulino told Rubio that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal was not up for debate, he also said he had addressed Washington’s concerns over Beijing’s purported influence around the waterway.
Panama would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s overseas development initiative, known as the Belt and Road initiative, Mulino said, also suggesting that the deal with Beijing could end early.
Mulino told reporters that Panama will seek to work with the US on new investments, including infrastructure projects. “I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible US investments in Panama,” he said.
During the meeting, Rubio told Panama’s president and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha that concerns over China’s “control” of the Panama Canal may mean the US has to “take measures necessary to protect its rights” per a longstanding treaty on the neutrality and operation of the canal.
The canal was returned to Panama under a 1977 treaty, which allows the US to intervene militarily if the waterway’s operations are disrupted by internal conflict or a foreign power. Today, more cargo than ever runs through the canal than it did during the years of US control.
Mulino said Sunday he doesn’t think there is a real risk that the US would use military force to retake the canal.
‘Panama won’t invest a single dollar in it’
Mulino also said Panamanian authorities are carrying out an audit on a company linked to China that operates two terminals around the canal.
“We have to wait until that audit ends before we can reach our legal conclusions and act accordingly,” Mulino said.
The company in question is the Panama Ports Company, part of a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings. Hutchinson Ports is one of the world’s largest port operators, overseeing 53 ports in 24 countries, including for other US allies such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
As CNN has previously reported, Hutchison does not control access to the Panama Canal. Workers at their two ports only load and unload containers onto ships and supply them with fuel. Three other ports in the vicinity of the canal are operated by competing companies providing similar services.
Mulino also said Panamanian authorities spoke with Rubio about the possibility of expanding a migrant repatriation flight program to remove foreign nationals who don’t have the legal basis to be in Panama, insisting that the US would have to shoulder the costs.
Asked to clarify if migrants would come to Panama and subsequently be transferred to their respective countries, Mulio said, “Yes. Exactly … We can do that, without a problem, under the total cost of the US. Panama won’t invest a single dollar in it.”
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The program, signed in July, is aimed at reducing irregular migration through the Darien Gap, a mountainous rainforest region connecting South and Central America. The 66-mile (106-kilometer) hike through the Darien brings migrants from Colombia to Panama and is a crucial passage for those hoping to reach the United States and Canada.
Mulino said Sunday that those repatriated could include migrants from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and other countries.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN.com
US to Panama: end China's sway over canal, or face action
Reuters
Updated Sun, February 2, 2025
STORY: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been on a visit to Panama, and he had a blunt message for his hosts on Sunday:
End Chinese influence over the canal - or face U.S. action.
He didn’t spell out what steps Panama should take - or what Washington might do.
Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that Beijing is running the canal.
He has vowed to retake control over it, and refused to rule out the use of force.
Also speaking on Sunday, he renewed the threat, but said military action probably wouldn’t be required.
“I don't think troops will be necessary in Panama. What Panama has done is terrible, financial security for this part of the world. And, you know, 70 percent of the signage on the Panama Canal is written in Chinese. That's not right. It wasn't meant for China.”
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He says Panama has violated the agreement that saw the canal come under its control from 1999.
After meeting Rubio, country President Jose Raul Mulino said he would review agreements involving China and Chinese firms.
But he reiterated that his country’s sovereignty over the waterway was not up for discussion.
Key to the discussion is a 25-year concession awarded to Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, allowing it to operate ports at both ends of the canal.
The contract has been targeted by U.S. lawmakers as evidence of China’s influence.
Rubio has said Beijing could shut down the shipping route in the event of a conflict with the U.S.
Panama rejects that idea, saying the canal is run by an independent body under its supervision.
Though Mulino said he would review the Hutchison deal.
China says it plays no part in running the trade route, and has never interfered.
Rubio meets Panama leader on Trump demands for canal
Shaun Tandon and Maria Isabel Sanchez
Sun, February 2, 2025
Marco Rubio (R) made his first trip as secretary of state to Panama (ARNULFO FRANCO) (ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP/AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Sunday with Panama's leader to press President Donald Trump's demand that the United States take back the Panama Canal, as protesters vented anger on the streets.
Trump has refused to back down on threats to seize the vital waterway, and it remains unclear what Rubio can achieve diplomatically that would please him, with Panama firmly rejecting any claims against its sovereignty.
Rubio, in his first meeting abroad as the top US diplomat, walked past an honor guard outside the whitewashed walls of President Jose Raul Mulino's official residence in the tropical capital's old quarter.
Rubio shook hands with Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha and flashed a thumbs-up sign before heading into talks with Mulino.
Sitting next to senior aides, Rubio and Mulino made no comments to reporters.
Rubio later in the day will tour the Panama Canal, the crucial link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through which some 40 percent of US container traffic passes.
Trump and Rubio say that US competitor China has gained too much power around the canal and could shut it down in a potential conflict, with catastrophic consequences for the United States.
Small but intense protests broke out in Panama ahead of Rubio's visit, with police firing tear gas.
Protesters burned an effigy of Rubio wearing a red, white and blue suit and held up pictures of him and Trump before a Nazi flag.
"Rubio, get out of Panama!" around 200 demonstrators chanted as the former senator met Mulino. Police prevented the crowd from approaching the Old City.
"To the imperial messenger," union leader Saul Mendez said of Rubio, "we reiterate that there is absolutely nothing here for Trump. Panama is a free and sovereign nation."
- Trump refuses to budge -
Mulino, in response to pressure, ordered an audit of a Hong Kong-based company that controls ports on both sides of the canal.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said that concession was not enough and that Panama had "totally violated" the understanding when the United States handed back the canal.
"They've already offered to do many things," Trump said of Panama, "but we think it's appropriate that we take it back."
The Panama Canal -- which Trump has dubbed as a modern "wonder of the world" -- was built by the United States at the cost of thousands of lives of laborers, mostly people of African descent from Barbados, Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean.
The United States maintained control of the canal when it opened in 1914 but began to negotiate following deadly riots in 1964 by Panamanians angered over foreign control.
Jimmy Carter sealed the agreement that gave the canal to Panama at the end of 1999, with the late president seeing a moral imperative for the United States to respect a smaller but still sovereign country.
Trump takes a vastly different view and has returned to the "big stick" approach of the early 20th century, in which the United States threatened force to have its way, especially in Latin America.
In his first week in office, Trump prepared massive tariffs on Colombia to force the US ally to take back deported citizens on military planes, after the country's leftist president complained that they were not being treated in a dignified way.
Just as Rubio started his trip, Trump signed off on sanctions on the top three US trading partners -- Canada, Mexico and China -- and told Canada it should be the 51st US state.
Rubio, the first Hispanic secretary of state and a devout Catholic, started his Sunday in Panama City attending Mass at a church built four centuries ago in the Old City.
He will travel to four more Latin American countries -- El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic -- where he is expected to press for cooperation on Trump's key priority of deporting migrants from the United States.
sct/bbk
Rubio warns Panama over canal, saying current status is ‘unacceptable’
Lauren Irwin
Sun, February 2, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a warning about the Panama Canal, saying the current status of the trade route is “unacceptable.”
According to a summary of Rubio’s meeting with Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino released by the State Department, Rubio said there would have to be “immediate changes” to how the U.S. operates with the canal.
“Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha today in Panama City to address critical regional and global challenges,” the summary said.
The State Department said Rubio and President Trump have determined that the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party over the canal’s operations are in violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal.
“Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty,” the release said.
Rubio thanked Mulino, praising his regional leadership in support of Venezuela democracy efforts and said it was a “productive conversation.”
Just days ago, Mulino said it would be “impossible” to negotiate about returning the canal to U.S. control.
Mulino spoke to reporters and said he hoped to talk to U.S. officials about immigration, security and the continued international fight against drug trafficking. It was unclear if he was able to discuss the issues with Rubio.
President Trump has continued his calls for retaking the Panama Canal, one of his priority issues in his first days in office. He criticized the Carter administration for selling the U.S.-built canal to Panama. He also was upset about high transit prices and the Chinese influence over the area.
Rubio thanked Mulino, praising his regional leadership in support of Venezuela democracy efforts and said it was a “productive conversation.”
Just days ago, Mulino said it would be “impossible” to negotiate about returning the canal to U.S. control.
Mulino spoke to reporters and said he hoped to talk to U.S. officials about immigration, security and the continued international fight against drug trafficking. It was unclear if he was able to discuss the issues with Rubio.
President Trump has continued his calls for retaking the Panama Canal, one of his priority issues in his first days in office. He criticized the Carter administration for selling the U.S.-built canal to Panama. He also was upset about high transit prices and the Chinese influence over the area.
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