As for the Panama Canal, Mulino denied U.S. vessels are being overcharged to use the waterway and emphasized that China plays no role in the canal. A Hong Kong-based firm manages two ports at the Panama Canal’s entrances, but Panama owns and operates the entire canal.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera to serve as ambassador to Panama after having threatened for the U.S. to reassert control over the Panama Canal it handed over 25 years ago.

The president of Panama is pushing back on rhetoric from President-elect Donald Trump after days of social media posts threatening to take back control of the Panama Canal. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino spoke at a press conference Thursday in which he dismissed various assertions made by the president-elect about the canal,

President-elect Donald Trump is openly discussing aspirations for U.S. territorial expansion, including taking over the Panama Canal. Trump has yet to specify how he will demand the return of the state-run canal to the U.

President-elect Trump names his pick for ambassador to Panama. President-elect Trump on Wednesday used a lengthy Christmas Day social media post to tell the 37 people who had their death sentences commuted by President Biden to “go to hell.