Panama is unstable due to Trump’s threat to seize the canal

President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion on Tuesday that the United States might reclaim the Panama Canal — including by force — alarmed Panamanians, who are accustomed to living with a U.S. military presence in the canal zone and were once invaded by U.S. military forces. before.

Few of them seem to take it Mr. Trump’s threats Seriously, but Panama’s Foreign Minister, Javier Martinez Acha, made his country’s position clear in a news conference hours after the US president-elect spoke loudly about restoring the canal, which the US built but handed over to Panama in the late 1990s. .

“Sovereignty over our canal is non-negotiable and is part of our irreversible history of struggle and conquest,” Mr. Martinez Acha said. “Let it be clear: the canal is owned by the Panamanians and will remain so.”

Experts said Trump’s real goal may have been intimidation, perhaps aimed at securing preferential treatment from the Panama government for American ships using the passage. More broadly, they said he may be trying to send a strong message across the region that will be crucial to his goals of controlling the flow of migrants toward the U.S. border.

“If the United States wanted to violate international law and act like Vladimir Putin, the United States could invade Panama and take back the canal,” he said. Benjamin Jaidan“No one will see this as a legitimate act, and it will not only cause serious damage to its image, but also destabilize the channel,” added the director of the Latin America program at the Wilson Center in Washington.

In recent weeks, as Trump prepares to take office, he has repeatedly talked about not only seizing the Panama Canal, but also about buying Greenland from Denmark (though not for sale, as it happens). He returned to those expansive themes in a turbulent speech Tuesday at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, this time refusing to rule out the use of military force to reclaim the canal.

“Maybe you should do something,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s comments did not sit well with the people of Panama.

Raul Arias de Parra, an ecotourism entrepreneur and descendant of one of the country’s founding politicians, said talk of American military power sparked memories among his compatriots of the American invasion of Panama in 1989. He noted that the military action at the time was aimed at overthrowing the country’s authoritarian leader. , Manuel Noriega.

“This was not an invasion to colonize or seize territory,” Mr. Arias de Parra said. “It was tragic for those who lost loved ones, but it freed us from a massive dictatorship.”

Regarding Mr. Trump’s threat to send the army to restore the canal, he said: “It is a very remote possibility, and very ridiculous.” He added that the United States had the right under the treaty to defend the canal if its operations were threatened, “but that is not the case.”

Some experts said Trump may be hoping to get assurances from Panamanian President Jose Raul Molino that he will do more to stop the flow of migrants across the border. Darren Jabthe forest extends it Hundreds of thousands of immigrants They crossed their path north, leading to a surge of troops on the American border.

Mr. Molyneux has made strenuous efforts to deter migrants.

“There is no country in which the United States has found greater cooperation in the field of immigration than in Panama,” said Jorge Eduardo Ritter, former Secretary of State and first Secretary of the Panama Canal.

On his first day in office, Mr. Molyneux agreed ranking With the United States to reduce migration through the Darien region with the help of US-funded flights to repatriate migrants who enter Panama illegally. Since then, the number of crossings has increased It decreased significantlywith the lowest numbers recorded in nearly two years.

If the Trump administration carries out mass deportations of illegal immigrants, it will also need Latin American and Caribbean countries to agree to receive flights carrying not only their deported citizens but also people from other countries, which is Panama did not agree to do.

Experts said it was equally likely that Trump was seeking a discount for American ships, which make up the largest percentage of vessels crossing the 40-mile passage between oceans. Tariffs have gone up, as have Panama Canal Authority fees Struggles with dehydration And the cost of creating a new tank to cope with it.

Jedan, of the Wilson Center, said: “I imagine that the president-elect will accept an American opponent in the channel and declare victory.”

He said many experts in the region view Trump’s combative statements as “standard operating procedures for a former and future president who uses threats and intimidation, even with US partners and friendly countries.”

After lengthy negotiations, the United States, under President Jimmy Carter, agreed in the late 1970s to a plan to gradually transfer the canal it built in Panama to the country in which it is located. The exchange was completed in December 1999.

Theories about why Mr. Trump focused on the channel have been swirling this week. Some have pointed out that ceding the canal to Panama has long been a sore point for Republicans.

Others said Trump was upset that Hong Kong companies were controlling the ports at the end of the canal. The President of Panama dismissed these concerns.

“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or involvement in anything related to the Panama Canal,” Molyneux said at a press conference in December.

Panama, a small country with a population of more than four million and no active army, according to its constitution, would not be in a position to fend off the US military. However, protests are likely to break out and could lead to the crippling of the Panama Canal, with disastrous consequences for global trade, especially for the United States, experts agreed.

Mr. Ritter, the former secretary of state, said Panama could only hope that the United States would abide by international law. He added: “This is the case of the egg facing the stone.”