President-elect Donald Trump ignited international controversy on two separate fronts over the weekend after suggesting that the United States might attempt to retake control of the Panama Canal and exert authority over the island nation of Greenland during his second term.
On Saturday, Trump issued a warning to the Panamanian government, urging them to stop taking advantage of American shipping companies and the US Navy passing through the canal or else risk losing control of the shipping lane altogether.
“The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security,” Trump said in a statement posted to Truth Social. “A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports.”
The president-elect noted that more than 70% of the ships traveling through the Panama Canal are “heading to, or from, U.S. ports,” making the US the primary beneficiary of the waterway. Nearly 5% of all global shipping passes through the canal.
“Considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World, the Panama Canal opened for business 110 years ago, and was built at HUGE cost to the United States in lives and treasure – 38,000 American men died from infected mosquitos in the jungles during construction,” he continued. “Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States at the time of its building, and understood the strength of Naval Power and Trade.”
As Trump indicated, a pair of 1977 treaties between US President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos, Commander of Panama’s National Guard, guaranteed the canal would be ceded to Panama on December 31, 1999, ending nearly a century of American control. The provisions of the agreements required Panama to assume primary responsibility for canal operations and defense and continue to operate it as a neural shipping lane.
However, an additional provision of the primary treaty granted the US the permanent right to intervene to defend the canal from any threats to its permanent neutrality.
It is this latter provision that Trump seems poised to invoke, given recent shipping bottlenecks, increases in fees, and growing influence by China, the second-biggest user of the canal.
Related Video: How the Panama Canal Crisis Impacts the World Economy
Trump continued:
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. 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.
Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S.
This complete “rip-off” of our Country will immediately stop.
The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that was always understood. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands! It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama.
If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.
“To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!” the president-elect concluded.
Trump again raised the subject of returning American oversight to Panama during his speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Arizona.
“The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security.
If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama… pic.twitter.com/LLUO358P9Y
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 22, 2024
In response, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino fired back with a scathing declaration, rejecting Trump’s demands and emphasizing Panama’s national sovereignty.
“As President, I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be,” Mulino stated. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”
#EsNoticia🔴El presidente de la República, @JoseRaulMulino, habla al país mediante un video sobre las polémicas declaraciones del presidente electo de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, sobre el @canaldepanama. pic.twitter.com/RQu0bl2FOJ
— ECOtvPanamá (@EcoPanamaTV) December 22, 2024
“Rates are not a whim,” he continued. “They are and will be established, publicly and in an open audience, considering market conditions, international competition, operating costs, and the maintenance and modernization needs of the interoceanic waterway.”
Mulino further stated that he desires a “good and respectful relationship” with the US, which will help to address “issues such as illegal migration, drug trafficking, and organized crime.”
“We’ll see about that,” Trump fired back, followed immediately by an image of an American flag flying over the waterway.
Meanwhile, Trump also seemed to suggest that the United States should take control of Greenland, reopening a subject that caused significant international controversy during his first term. Buried in a Truth Social statement nominating entrepreneur and diplomat Ken Howery to be his ambassador to Denmark, the country that control’s Greenland, Trump remarked that “for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Trump first floated the idea of buying Greenland in late 2019, saying that the concept of owning the semi-independent Danish territory was “interesting.” Controlling the island would give the United States direct access to the Arctic, allowing it to counter the growing presence of Russian and Chinese scientific and military assets. The country is also rich in natural resources, making it a potentially lucrative acquisition.
Greenland is already home to a large US military base, but at the time, government officials made it clear that the island was not for sale. This sentiment was reiterated on Sunday in response to Trump’s latest remarks on the subject.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a statement. “We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom.”
Trump’s comments on Panama and Greenland mark the latest quasi-expansionist rhetoric from the president-elect, who in recent weeks has mockingly floated the idea of making Canada the “51st state” given the country’s reliance on the American economy.
He has also repeatedly referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “the governor of the great state of Canada,” though Trudeau himself said that Trump was clearly joking when he made these comments. Trudeau met Trump for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month to discuss the president-elect’s threats of a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada, a tactic to compel America’s neighbors to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.
Connor Walcott is the lead writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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