Panama denied that he had made changes to allow the Government plovila for free to pass the Panama Channel, after the allegations of the White House that he had agreed to such a move.
State Department said in a statement about X that his government vessel “can now undergo a Panaman channel without compensation fees, saving the US government of millions of dollars a year.”
Responding to the comments, the Panama Canal Administration (ACP) said that “it was empowered to set up tolls and other channel transport fees,” adding that “they did not adapt to them”.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to take control of the waterways, which is crucial to the global trade.
The 51 -kilometer Panaman channel intersects in the central American nation and is the main connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was visiting Latin American countries this week, asked Panama to make “immediate changes” into what he calls “the influence and control of” China over the channel.
The American best diplomat said Panama had to act or now take the necessary measures to protect their rights in accordance with the contract between the two countries.
During his visit to the country, Rubio met President Panama José Raul Mulin, as well as the canal administrator, Ricaunga Vásquez Morales.
ACP said after a visit that he had transferred his intention to work with the US Navy to optimize the priority of transit for his vessels through the channel.
This surrender of Washington dialogue remained, according to a separate statement on Wednesday.
The US vessels make up a significant proportion of traffic in the channel. In 2024, 52% of the trance through the navigable path had ports of origin or destination in the United States, according to the canal authorities.
Up to 14,000 ships uses a channel each year to avoid a long and expensive journey around South America.
In his inaugural speech, President Trump said he was planning to “return” the channel, claiming that China had managed it, and Panama “broke” the promise that she would remain neutral.
The plan was strongly rejected by Mulino, who said he was a key trade route “in the hands of the earth.
He also rejected Trump’s allegations about the impact of China, saying that “there is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration.”
The United States built the channel in the early 20th century, but after years of protest, President Jimmy Carter signed a contract with Panama in 1977 to gradually respond to the control of the waterway, which Trump marked a “big mistake”.
