If he were to back down, if he was satisfied by granting preferential rates to American ships passing through the Canal, it would cause “chaos”, the head of the authority that manages the strategically important infrastructure, Ricaurte Vazquez Morales, pointed out yesterday in an interview he gave to .
Panama cannot make exceptions
“The rules are the rules, there are no exceptions. We cannot make exceptions for the Chinese, for the Americans or for anyone else, this would be against the neutrality agreement, against international law and would lead to chaos,” stressed Mr. Basque Morales in the American Economic Journal.
“China has no involvement with Panama”
The representative of Panama categorically denied that Beijing exerts any influence on the operation of the Canal: “China has no involvement in our operation”, he clarified.
The Trump demand
Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants it – it was built by the Americans and was inaugurated in 1914 – if the passage costs for American ships are not reduced.
The day before Tuesday, a hearing was held against the agreement signed in 1977 by then-President Jimmy Carter, under which control of the Canal was ceded to Panama at the end of 1999.
Trump: We’re not stupid anymore
“They are not treating us fairly. They force our ships to pay more than the ships of other countries,” said the Republican President.
“They make fun of us because they think we’re stupid. But we’re not stupid anymore,” added the US president-elect, who will be sworn in and take office next Monday, January 20.
“Panama’s national sovereignty is not negotiable”
Panama’s national sovereignty over the Canal “is not negotiable,” Javier Martinez-Acha, the Central American country’s foreign minister, told him.
Trump: I can’t guarantee Panama-Greenland
Asked yesterday if he would pledge not to use force, not to send the US military to annex the Panama Canal, a vital artery for global shipping, or Greenland – an autonomous region of Denmark – Donald Trump replied “I can’t I guarantee it” for either case.
December 31 marked the 25th anniversary of the Panama Canal being brought under Panamanian control.
