On 21 December 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that the United States should retake control of the Panama Canal from Panama. He claimed that the rates Panama was charging American ships were “exorbitant” and in violation of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, although this was in fact not the case, and the US was being charged at the agreed rates. The following day, he doubled down, claiming that the canal was “falling into the wrong hands”, apparently in reference to China and the Chinese company CK Hutchison Holdings.
Trump’s statements were disputed by the Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino responded, tweeting that “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zones is part of Panama, and it will continue to be.” He also denied that the United States was being unfairly charged and affirmed that the canal was part of the country’s “inalienable patrimony”. Trump amplified his earlier statement when speaking to Congress in March 2025, stating that the US “will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.”
