PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out discussing control over the Panama Canal in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is set to visit the Central American country in his first official trip abroad this weekend.
Mulino’s comments during a weekly press conference come after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to take control of the canal, claiming it is being operated by China. The Panamanian government strongly denies the accusation.
“I cannot negotiate and much less open a process of negotiation on the canal,” Mulino said. “That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama.”
The canal, an 82-km (51-mile) artificial waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and is key to global trade flows, is operated by the Panama Canal Authority – an autonomous agency overseen by the Panamanian government.
The U.S. built the canal in the early 20th century and handed control to Panama in 1999, two decades after signing a set of treaties guaranteeing its permanent neutrality.
But Trump has said that this treaty is being violated, claiming China controls the canal as has soldiers present there, without offering evidence. He also argues the U.S. is being overcharged for transit through the canal.
“I have received absolutely no information from the U.S. embassy in Panama … nor from the Secretary of State, with whom we work together on migration issues, about the alleged military presence of another country in the canal,” Mulino added.
“The Panama Canal is controlled by Panama and its administration has always been in Panamanian hands,” he said.
Panama had many other issues to discuss with Rubio, Mulino said, such as migration and drug trafficking.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry and Cassandra Garrison)
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