Panamanians expressed their annoyance and concern on Monday after, in his second inauguration as US president, Donald Trump insisted on his intention to retake the Panama Canal.
He said his country’s ships are not treated fairly and China, its commercial archrival, supposedly operates the important maritime artery.. The president José Raúl Mulino He responded again to Trump that the channel will continue to be under local administration and that there is no foreign interference on the channel, referring to China.
Weeks before taking office and despite the fact that the channel was not a topic of his campaign, Trump surprised the leaders of the Central American country of more than 4 million inhabitants by once again questioning the treaties signed by the then president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, which They established the transfer of the road to full control of Panama on December 31, 1999 after an 85-year US administration..
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Before his inauguration, the Republican leader also did not rule out the use of force to once again take over the operation of the highway, of which the United States is the main client.
What do Panamanians think about the US intention to retake the Panama Canal?
The canal is a symbol of pride for Panamanians, who insist that its control was achieved after decades of fighting and confrontations that left people dead over the recovery of the old canal zone..
Last December 31, The country commemorated 25 years of the transfer and days later the death of 21 Panamanians at the hands of the US army decades ago.
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The clashes of January 1964 occurred when students were refused to raise the national flag at a school in the old canal zone. A group of protesters burned a doll representing Trump on the day of commemoration of that feat, known as Martyrs’ Day..
The current government and the Canal administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, have said forcefully that China has nothing to do with the operation of the highway, not even a Hong Kong-based consortium that has operated ports at the Atlantic and Pacific gateways since 1997..
The government of former President Laurentino Cortizo renewed the concession to that company for 25 more years. Curiously, current authorities have ordered an audit of that consortium amid Trump’s accusations.
“This is a geopolitical issue, this is a wordplay issue.“said teacher Marlene Grimas. “The United States does not have allies, but interests. Trump is applying pressure“.
With information from AP
MBV