On Sunday, December 17th 2023, Donald Trump changed the state of international politics. His offhand comment may not seem consequential, but the history preceding it and the global implications of his words ensure that this issue requires national attention.
Trump held his first major rally since being elected President of the United States, and amongst a speech boasting about the victory of the Republican party and complaining about the state of the US, he shared his thoughts on the country’s relinquishing of the Panama Canal.
In the early 1900s, the US constructed this canal to increase capacity for military transit and commercial trade between the coasts. On December 31st, 1999, President Jimmy Carter gave ownership of the canal to Panama after signing a diplomatic treaty.
During his rally, Trump told his audience of over 20,000 conservatives that the US “foolishly gave [the Panama Canal] away” and are “being ripped off.” These inflammatory sentiments alone would be enough to draw concern and controversy, but Trump doubled down on his opinions. According to NPR, Trump promised the crowd that once his second term has begun, he “will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.”
His reasoning for this was not fully explained, but the most common criticism of the United States’ lack of ownership by conservative politicians revolves around the fees for American ships. AP News explains that “The canal depends on reservoirs to operate its locks and was heavily affected by 2023 Central American droughts that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships using the canal each day, administrators also increased the fees that are charged to all shippers for reserving a slot. With weather returning to normal in the later months of this year, transit on the canal has normalized. But price increases are still expected for next year.” Trump’s reference to this “rip-off” is likely referring to these price increases.
During the rally, he warned “the officials of Panama” to be “guided accordingly,” but didn’t elaborate what he wanted them to do. These inflammatory remarks were not well received. The recently elected President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, is a conservative populist who happens to agree with many aspects of Trump’s campaign. However, he was elected in May on a pro-business platform, and seeing as the Panama Canal generates around one-fifth of annual government revenue, it’s not surprising that he vehemently opposed Trump’s statement.
After Trump’s speech at the rally, Mulino said in a video that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to.” He didn’t explicitly name Trump in his response video but addressed his complaints about the fees for US ships crossing the canal. He explained that the fees are “not set on a whim,” but rather set by experts who consider the impact of operational costs, supply and demand factors, and the cost of Panama’s initiative to improve the canal.
Trump responded on social media promptly, saying “We’ll see about that!” — he also posted a picture of a US flag in the zone of the Panama Canal, captioned with the words “Welcome to the United States Canal!” The rising tensions between Panama and the United States, formerly close allies, raises concern about the other geopolitical impacts of a Trump presidency. If Trump pursues these aggressive notions of sovereignty, conflict is inevitable.
Written by Sirisha Kunamemni
