The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, once again threatened this Tuesday to regain control of the Panama Canal, accusing the Central American country of imposing excessive passage fees on American ships that use this route between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
In a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump assured that China “is basically taking control” of the canal and warned about the growing influence of the Asian giant in this crucial step for international trade.
“The Panama Canal was built for our Army,” said Trump, who again criticized the decision of the late former President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) to transfer control of the canal to Panama during his term.
“The Panama Canal is vital for our country. It is being operated by China. We gave it to Panama, not China, and they have abused that gift. “That decision should never have been made,” he declared.
During his presidency, Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, negotiated the treaties that allowed the transfer of the canal to Panama, a process that was completed in 1999.
Read more: Trump’s strategic chess: The tower (the Panama Canal)
Panama refuses to cede control of the canal back to the US
Trump described this decision as a “big mistake” and stated that, in his opinion, it was one of the reasons why Carter lost re-election in the 1980 elections, in a context marked by the American hostage crisis at the embassy. of the US in Tehran.
Trump has previously said that he will seek to regain control of the canal when he takes office on January 20, an idea that the Government of Panama rejected.
However, the president-elect has not explained how he will get a sovereign nation and ally of Washington to give up control of its territory and its main infrastructure. When asked by journalists about whether he would consider economic, military measures or a renegotiation of the treaties, Trump simply responded: “We will have to do something.”
These statements come at a time when Jimmy Carter’s body is scheduled to leave his native Georgia to be transferred to Washington, where his remains will lie in state in a chapel in the Capitol until the state funeral to be held on Thursday.
With information from EFE
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