‘Complete rip-off’: Trump threatens to try take back control of Panama Canal

Donald Trump has warned the US will demand to take back control of the a crucial waterway declaring the “complete rip-off” will end when he takes office.

Donald Trump has warned the US will demand to regain control of the Panama Canal if the central American country fails to reduce “ridiculous” fees through the critical transportation channel.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at AmericaFest in Arizona on Sunday, the President-elect said Panamanian authorities “haven’t treated us fairly” in the operation of the canal, which the US ceded control of in 1999.

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Its shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous route around the southernmost tip of South America.

The waterway is incredibly complex, making it one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken.

The Panama Canal links the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty

A stranded ship in Limon Bay, near the Panama Canal exit. Picture: Martin bernetti/AFP

However, Mr Trump is not happy with the current system.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair,” he said, adding when he becomes President, “this complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop”.

If shipping fees are not lowered, Mr Trump warned his administration “will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question”.

“We’re not going to stand for it. So to the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly.”

Donald Trump said the US will demand to regain control of the Panama Canal if “ridiculous” fees are not reduced. Picture: Josh edelson/AFP

Panama’s president José Raúl Mulino was quick to hit back in a video on social media, insisting “every square metre of the Panama Canal and its adjoining zone” belongs to Panama.

“The sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable,” he said.

Thousands of ships transit through the 82km canal every year, making it critical to US and international commerce.

Control of the key waterway was passed form the US to Panama in the 1990s under a treaty signed in 1977 during former President Jimmy Carter’s administration.

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino stressed the canal belongs to his country. Picture: Armando Acevedo/AFP

Thousands of ships transit through the 82km canal every year. Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty

During his address on Sunday, Mr Trump, who is will take office on January 20, made expansive promises for his second term.

“On January 20, the United States will turn the page forever on four long, horrible years of failure, incompetence, national decline, and we will inaugurate a new era of peace, prosperity and national greatness,” he said, referring to his swearing-in.

“I will end the war in Ukraine. I will stop the chaos in the Middle East, and I will prevent, I promise, World War III.”

“The golden age of America is upon us,” he added.

Mr Trump has yet to explain publicly how he plans to bring a quick end to the war in Ukraine, or to bring peace to the Middle East.

Mr Trump addressed crowds during Turning Point's annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday. Picture: Josh Edelson/AFP

During the wide-ranging speech, Mr Trump also pledged to “stop the transgender lunacy” on his first day back in office, as Republicans – who are set to control both chambers of Congress and the White House – continue their push against LGBTQ rights.

“I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools,” he said.

He also vowed to “keep men out of women’s sports,” adding that “it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as Democratic- and Republican-controlled states have moved in opposite directions on policy such as medical treatment and what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.

Last week, when the US Congress approved its annual defence budget, it included a provision to block funding of some gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members.

Mr Trump made expansive promises for his second term during the address. Picture: Rebecca Noble/ Getty AFP

He said the US “will turn the page forever on four long, horrible years”. Picture: Picture: Josh Edelson/AFP

Mr Trump, who regularly blames migrants from Latin America for America’s drug problems, also renewed his vow to immediately begin “the largest deportation operation in American history” upon taking office, and later went further, saying he would “immediately designate the (drug) cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.”

“This criminal network operating on American soil will be dismantled, deported and destroyed,” Mr Trump said.

During his first term in 2019, after the killing in Mexico of nine American citizens from a Mormon community, Trump vowed to apply the terrorist designation to Mexican cartels.

But he relented following a plea from then-Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez.

– With AFP

Originally published as ‘Complete rip-off’: Trump threatens to try take back control of Panama Canal