“With the new United States Government, I aspire to preserve and maintain a good and respectful relationship,” Raúl Mulino said this Sunday in a video in which he responded to Trump’s threats regarding the Panama Canal. For his part, President Petro expressed his support for Panama
The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, responded this Sunday, December 22, to Donald Trump’s remarks about an eventual recovery of the Panama Canal by the United States.
Through a video, Mulino pointed out: “I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama, and will continue to be so.”
🇵🇦 Message from President José Raúl Mulino 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/DMXU8qAuNT
— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) December 22, 2024
The president expressed his rejection of “any demonstration that distorts reality” regarding the Panama Canal.
“With the new United States Government, I aspire to preserve and maintain a good and respectful relationship,” Mulino said.
Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States, threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal if historic agreements are not respected.
«Our Navy and commerce have been treated in a very unfair and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump said on Saturday, December 21.
Read Also: Mulino asks Trump to maintain aid to Panama to deport migrants
In his response, President Mulino argued that the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties “agreed to the dissolution of the former canal zone, recognizing Panamanian sovereignty and the complete delivery of the canal to Panama, which ended on December 31, 1999.”
At the same time, he stated that his country will celebrate 25 years since the transfer of the channel. “The treaties also established the permanent neutrality of the canal, guaranteeing its open and safe operation for all nations, a treaty that has obtained the adhesion of more than 40 States,” said the president.
Regarding the rates in the Panama Canal, President Mulino indicated that “the rates are not a whim, they are established publicly and in an open audience, considering market conditions, international competition, operating costs and maintenance needs. and modernization of the interoceanic route.
For his part, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro expressed his support for Panama.
«Until the last consequences I will be at Panama’s side and the defense of its sovereignty. If the new US government wants to talk about business, we will talk about business, face to face, and for the benefit of our people, but dignity will never be negotiated. “President Trump has been wrong and contradicted.”
Until the last consequences I will be at Panama’s side and the defense of its sovereignty.
If the new US government wants to talk about business, we will talk about business, face to face, and for the benefit of our people, but dignity will never be negotiated.
President Trump has…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) December 22, 2024
He added: «If you do not want myriads passing through the Darién, increased by millions from Panama to Mexico, you must understand that it will depend on the prosperity and freedom of our people. If it seems expensive to pay to pass the Panama Canal in the hands of Panamanians, it will be much more expensive to plunge Panama, South America, Central America or Mexico into poverty. If they don’t want us in the US, we must make all the Americas prosperous in independence, freedom and democratic dignity.
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