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Panama denied to make changes to allow US state ships to transport the Panama Channel for free after claiming to have agreed to such a move.
The State Department said in a statement by X that its state ships “may now move to the Panama Canal without a taxi, saving the US government millions of dollars a year.”
In response to the comments, the Authority of the Panama Channel (ACP) said it was “authorized to set fees and other fees for the passage of the channel”, adding that “he did not make any adjustments to them.”
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to take control of the waterway, which is crucial to global trade.
The Panama channel of 51 miles (82 km) cuts into the nation in Central America and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited Latin American countries this week this week, asked Panama to “instant changes” to what he calls China’s “influence and control” over the channel.
The best diplomat in America said Panama should operate or the United States will take the necessary measures to protect its rights under a contract between the two countries.
During a visit to the country, Rubio met with Panama President Jose Raul Mulino, as well as the administrator of the Ricarte Vasquez Morales Channel.
After his visit, he told him that he had given his intention to work with the US Navy to optimize the transit priority for his ships across the channel.
This commitment to dialogue with Washington remained, according to a separate statement on Wednesday.
US ships make up a significant portion of channel traffic. In 2024, 52% of transits through the water road had ports of origin or destination in the United States, according to the channel authorities.
Up to 14,000 ships use the channel each year to avoid a long and expensive journey around the top of South America.
In his opening speech, President Trump said he plans to “return” the channel, claiming that China ruled it and Panama had “violated” a promise to remain neutral.
The plan was heavily rejected by Mulino, who said the key trade path “is and will remain” in the hands of the country.
He also rejected Trump’s allegations of China’s influence, saying that “there is no presence of any nation in the world to interfere with our administration.”
Trump recently repeated his request. Although he said earlier this week that he was “not satisfied” with the situation, he admitted that Panama had “agreed to certain things”. Mulino said his country would not continue its membership in the infrastructure construction program in China, the Belt and Road initiative.
The United States built the channel in the early 20th century, but after years, President Jimmy Carter signed a contract with Panama in 1977 to gradually regain control of the water road that Trump marked a “big mistake”.
