“Yesterday (Trump) also referred to the issue of Panama and there we did express our solidarity with the president of Panama (José Raúl Mulino), who very quickly said ‘the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians’ and, indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians,” said the dignitary.

During her usual press conference, the head of state also conveyed her support to the people of Panama.

Last Saturday, the future ruler of the northern territory threatened to regain control of the interoceanic route, accusing the Central American country of charging excessive fees for using the navigation crossing and of China’s interference in canal operations.

On national television, Mulino said yesterday that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area is Panama’s, and will continue to be so.”

With a brief and ironic phrase (“We’ll see”), accompanied by a North American flag that flutters over the waters of the interoceanic route with the inscription “Welcome to the United States Canal,” Trump countered Mulino’s message.

Other leaders of the region have spoken out in favor of Panama, including the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.

“Until the last consequences I will be on the side of Panama and the defense of its sovereignty. If the new US government wants to talk business, we will talk business, face to face, and for the benefit of our people, but dignity will never be negotiated,” he stressed. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also wrote on social media X that the Panama Canal belongs solely to that nation.

“The Monroe Doctrine is a neocolonial weapon against Our America. It threatens the sovereignty of Panama and the peace and security of the hemisphere,” he warned.

ef/ro/las