The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, warned President-elect Donald Trump that he stands with Panama amid Trump’s push for the United States to seize the Panama Canal.
“Until the last consequences, I will be on the side of Panama and the defense of its sovereignty,” Petro said, according to a translation. “If the new US government wants to talk business, we will talk business, face to face, and for the benefit of our people, but dignity will never be negotiated.”
“President Trump has made mistakes and contradicted himself. If he does not want myriads crossing the Darien, increased by millions from Panama to Mexico, he must understand that it will depend on the prosperity and freedom of our peoples,” he continued.
Petro noted that if it “seems expensive to pay to pass the Panama Canal into 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 U.S., we must make all of the Americas prosperous in independence, freedom and democratic dignity.”
“Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States at the time of its building, and understood the strength of Naval Power and Trade. When President Jimmy Carter foolishly gave it away, for One Dollar, during his term in Office, it was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations, doing business within our Country, exorbitant prices and rates of passage.”
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino asserted that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”
