President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States would take control of the Panama Canal, a shipping waterway that passes through Central America, unless fees for using the canal are reduced.
Panama’s leader responded in a recent statement, saying the waterway is not for sale. Since then, Trump has repeatedly posted comments about the channel.
This is the latest in a series of similar statements by Trump, who recently suggested the US Capture of GreenlandAnd the idea is too It floated during his first presidency. He also joked about Canada Being an American state.
Here’s what to know about the history of the Panama Canal and U.S. involvement in the shipping lane.
History of the Panama Canal
The United States built the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1913, and it opened in 1917. The canal cost about $375 million to build, making it the most expensive construction project in the history of the United States at that time, according to the Panama Canal Authority. Thousands of workers died during the arduous construction process.
The canal connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, providing ships with a shortcut to avoid going around the tip of South America. The canal revolutionized shipping traffic in the region.
The United States obtained the rights to build and operate the canal in the early 20th century, but at the time, Panama was in the process of seceding from Colombia, whose Senate was refusing to ratify a treaty that would allow the canal to be built, according to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”. To the Office of the Historian at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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To ensure the canal can be built, then-President Theodore Roosevelt It supported Panama’s independence, and in 1903, the United States and Panama signed a treaty that established permanent rights for the United States in the “Panama Canal Zone” that ran through the country. However, the person who negotiated on behalf of Panama did not have official approval from the country’s government and had not lived in the country for 17 years, leading many Panamanians to question the validity of the treaty, according to the historian’s office.
Throughout the 20th century, the United States and Panama dealt with tensions surrounding the canal, including riots in the 1960s that led to a brief break in diplomatic relations between the two countries. In 1967, the United States and Panama began negotiating a new treaty, eventually reaching an agreement, but a change in elected leaders and a coup in Panama led to the creation of a new government in the Central American country, according to the historian’s office. . For this reason, “the negotiations suffered a major setback.”
Negotiations continued through the 1970s. When Jimmy Carter was elected president, he made concluding the negotiation process a priority, and in 1977, two treaties were submitted to the US Senate: the Neutrality Treaty, which stipulated that the United States could use its military to defend the canal, allowing a “permanent United States” to use ” waterway, and the Panama Canal Treaty, which would end the existence of the Panama Canal Zone and allow the canal to be handed over to Panama in December 1999. As part of the second treaty, Panama would also become primarily responsible for the defense of the canal.
The treaties, known collectively as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, were signed on September 7, 1977. In the spring of 1978, the US Senate voted to ratify the treaties, and Carter signed them into law on September 27, 1979. He was transferred to Panama On December 31, 1999, During the Clinton administration.
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Who runs the Panama Canal?
The Panama Canal has been owned and operated by the Panama Canal Authority, a government-owned agency, since 1999. The agency was established shortly before the canal was returned to Panama.
Since taking control of the waterway, the Panama Canal Authority has invested billions in expanding the canal. A $5.25 billion expansion of the canal opened in 2016, doubling the waterway’s capacity and reducing global maritime costs by an estimated $8 billion annually. CBS News previously reported. Expansion is also allowed Passage of large ships.
Who uses the Panama Canal?
About 40% of the world’s cargo ship traffic passes through the Panama Canal, CBS News previously reportedAlthough recent droughts have forced operators to reduce ship crossings.
About two-thirds of the canal’s traffic either heads to or departs from the United States, although ships from around the world use the waterway every day, according to the Panama Canal Authority.
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The agency said that between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the canal every year.
Clashes between Trump and the President of Panama
Trump first appeared to suggest the United States seize the Panama Canal in a TruthSocial post on December 21.
He also raised the issue to a crowd of supporters at Turning Point’s AmericaFest on Sunday, where he said Panama was charging “exorbitant prices” and said the “complete fraud of our country will stop immediately.”
“If the moral and legal principles of this generous gesture are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in its entirety, quickly and without question,” Trump said.
Trump said on Wednesday will be nominated Miami-Dade International Trade Association member Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as U.S. ambassador to Panama. In that ad, he accused Panama of “tearing us apart in the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams.”
Trump has continued to post online about the US taking back ownership of the channel, and referenced the channel in a Christmas Day message shared on TruthSocial. He warned of China’s potential influence in the shipping waterway, despite the fact that there is no Chinese presence in the canal, according to Reuters. Reuters said that a Hong Kong-based company operates two ports along the canal.
Panama President José Raul Molino said in a statement posted on social media that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”
“We’ll see about that!” Trump wrote online in response.
Molyneux responded to Trump again in a press conference on Thursday, saying that “anyone in the world is free to visit the canal,” adding that “there is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal, and on the other hand, there will not be a single Chinese soldier in the canal.” “We maintain a respectful and well-managed relationship with China.” Molyneux hosts weekly press conferences.
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Molyneux said that although there are “sensitive issues like immigration” that he and Trump “are concerned about as presidents,” the two leaders have “nothing to discuss” regarding ownership of the Panama Canal.
“The specific approach, the canal is Panamanian and it belongs to the Panamanians, there is no possibility to open any kind of conversation about this reality that cost the country tears, sweat and blood to achieve,” Molyneux said.
