President-elect Donald Trump‘s suggestion on Tuesday that the United States might reclaim the Panama Canal, even through the use of force, has caused unease in Panama.
Panama’s foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha, made his country’s position clear at a news conference hours after the American president-elect mused aloud about retaking the canal.
“The sovereignty of our canal is nonnegotiable and is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest,” Martínez-Acha said. “Let it be clear: The canal belongs to the Panamanians, and it will continue to be that way.”
According to a New York Times report, experts believe Trump’s comments are more about exerting pressure than a genuine threat. They suggest his goal may be to secure preferential treatment for US ships using the canal or to push Panama to curb migration through the Darién Gap, a critical route for migrants heading toward the US.
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has already worked closely with the US on migration issues, approving a US-supported programme to reduce illegal crossings through the Darién region.
Panamanians’ memories of past US military actions, including the 1989 invasion to depose Manuel Noriega, remain vivid, reigniting concerns.
A small country with more than 4 million inhabitants and no active military, as per its constitution, Panama would be in no position to stave off the U.S. military.
In recent weeks, as he prepares to take office, Trump has talked repeatedly about not just taking over the Panama Canal, control of which the United States ceded to Panama by treaty in the late 1990s, but also buying Greenland from Denmark.
