Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said he would not be holding any negotiations regarding control of the Panama Canal.
“It’s impossible, I can’t negotiate,” Mulino said during a press conference. “That is done. The canal belongs to Panama.”
“This is not a country that takes away and breaks laws. If I do that because they are Chinese companies or take away a concession just like that because someone asked me to, that is not the climate we want to project as a country to foreign investors,” he added. “Panama respects the rule of law.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Panama this weekend.
Earlier this week, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) told the Senate Commerce Committee that Chinese involvement with the Panama Canal is a threat to U.S. national security.
“Chinese companies are building a bridge across the canal – at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade – and control container ports at either end,” he said. “The partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning, and the ports give China ready observation posts to time that action. This situation poses acute risks to U.S. national security.”
An internal memo from House Republicans similarly encourages lawmakers to support President Donald Trump’s effort to take back the Panama Canal. The document explains that Panama “raised transit fees significantly for ships traveling through the canal” in response to droughts. Panama further “increased transit reservation fees for 2025 from $41,000 to $50,000 for Panamax lock transits for ‘Super’ category vessels, including MR tankers. Neopanamax lock transit reservation fees will climb from $80,000 to $100,000.”
Under the treaties, transit fees must be “just, reasonable, equitable, and consistent with international law.” The “exorbitant” fees violate the treaties, the memo asserts.
