Future US President Donald Trump’s threat to take the Panama Canal back into US hands has caused an uproar in the Central American country. Angry protesters burned a photo of Trump on Tuesday and railed against the “animal.”
Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in the city of Panama, chanting slogans such as “Trump, you animal, leave the canal alone.” Some demonstrators carried banners reading “Donald Trump, Public Enemy of Panama.” The people of Panama have shown “that they are capable of taking back their territory and we will not give that up again,” protester Jorge Guzmán told the AFP news agency.
Union boss: “Imperial madness”
“Panama is a sovereign territory and the canal here is Panamanian,” said Saúl Méndez, head of a construction workers union that helped organize the protest. “Donald Trump and his imperial madness cannot claim a single inch of land in Panama.”
On Saturday, Trump criticized the “ridiculously high fees” that the Central American state charges for passage via the connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that if Panama is unable to ensure the “safe, efficient and reliable operation” of the canal, the US would “demand the full and unconditional return of the Panama Canal.”
President: “Panama’s independence is not negotiable”
Panamanian head of state José Raúl Mulino immediately rejected this. Panama’s sovereignty and independence are non-negotiable, Mulino said, demanding respect for his country.
The US completed the Panama Canal in 1914, which is crucial to world trade. In 1977, then Democratic US President Jimmy Carter and then Panamanian military leader Omar Torrijos signed an agreement to transfer the canal to Panama. In 1999, the Panamanian state took control of the waterway.
Source: Krone
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