Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has rejected US President Donald Trump’s promise to “take back” the Panama Canal.
“The Canal is and will remain Panama’s and its administration will remain under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality,” Mulino reiterated in a statement after Trump’s inaugural speech this Monday (20).
Mulino also appeared to reject Trump’s claim that China is “operating” the canal, which connects the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
“There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes in our administration,” Mulino said without mentioning China directly.
Mulino called for dialogue on the matter to “clarify the points mentioned without undermining our right, total sovereignty and ownership of our Canal”.
The Panama Canal Authority told CNN who would not comment on Trump’s remarks.
Trump claimed during his inaugural address that Panama violated treaty agreements that require neutrality in canal operations.
“American ships are being severely overloaded and not treated fairly in any way, and that includes the United States Navy,” Trump alleged. “And most of all, China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back.
This content was originally published in Panamanian president rejects Trump’s promise to resume Panama Canal on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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