‘Canal is and will continue to operate under Panamanian control’: Panamian President

Panama City [Panama], January 21 (ANI): Panama President Jose Raul Mulino in a statement on Tuesday clarified that the Panama Canal would continue to operate under Panamian control, as opposed to US President Donald Trump's stance expressed in his speech.
Mulino said that no nation must interfere in Panama's matters.
"In the name of the Republic of Panama and its people, let us consider integrally the words uttered by President Donald Trump regarding Panama and its Canal, in his inaugural speech. Again he expressed in his message to the Nation, last December 22: the Canal is and will continue to operate under Panamanian control with respect for its permanent neutrality. There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration," he said.
He said that the Canal was not a concession to anyone, and that it operated judiciously to cater to the world's interests.
"The Canal was not a concession to anyone. It was the result of generational conflicts that culminated in 1999, the product of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty and, since then, for 25 years, in an uninterrupted manner, we have administered and expanded it responsibly to serve the world and its trade, including the United States," he said.
The Panaman President added that they will exercise the rights given to them wisely to manage relations with all the friendly nations.
"We will exercise the right that binds us, the legal basis of the Treaty, the dignity that distinguishes us and the strength that gives us the International Right as the ideal way to manage relations between countries and, above all, between allied and friendly countries, as we demonstrate that the history and our actions regarding the United States. The dialogue is always the way to clarify the points mentioned without diminishing our right, total sovereignty and property of our Canal," he said.

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— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) January 20, 2025

Claiming that China is "operating" the Panama Canal, President Donald Trump in his inaugural address on Monday said that "we're taking it back" as the US has been treated 'unfairly.'
After being sworn in as the 47th US President at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, he said, "The United States, I mean, think of this, spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38 lives in the building of the Panama Canal. We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should never been made, and Panama's promise to us has been broken." (ANI)