President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States take over the Panama Canal, a waterway that runs through Central America, unless fees for using the canal are lowered.
Panama’s leader responded in a recent statement, saying the waterway is not for sale. Since then, Trump has repeatedly posted about the channel.
It is the latest in a series of similar statements by Trump, who recently suggested the U.S take control of Greenlandan idea he too floated during his first presidency. He also joked about Canada be a US state.
Here’s what you need to know about the history of the Panama Canal and the United States’ involvement with the shipping route.
History of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was built by the United States between 1904 and 1913, and opened in 1917. The canal cost about $375 million to build, making it the most expensive construction project in United States history. United at that time, according to the Panama Canal Authority. The canal connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, offering ships a shortcut around the tip of South America. The canal revolutionized maritime traffic in the region.
The United States acquired the rights to build and operate the canal in the early 20th century, but at the time, Panama was in the process of seceding from Colombia, whose senate refused to ratify a treaty allowing the construction of the canal. channel, according to Office of the State Department Historian.
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To ensure that the old canal could be built President Theodore Roosevelt he supported Panamanian independence, and in 1903, the US and Panama signed a treaty establishing permanent US rights to a “Panama Canal Zone” that stretched across the country. However, the person who negotiated on behalf of Panama did not have formal consent from the nation’s government and had not lived in the country for 17 years, leading many Panamanians to question the validity of the treaty, according to the Office of the ‘Historian.
Throughout the 20th century, the US and Panama dealt with tensions over the canal, including a mutiny in the 1960s that led to a brief breakdown in diplomatic relations between the countries. In 1967, the US and Panama began negotiating a new treaty, eventually reaching an agreement, but a change in elected leaders and a coup in Panama led to the establishment of a new government in the Central American nation, according to the Office of the Historian. . Because of this, the negotiations “suffered a major setback”.
Negotiations continued throughout the 1970s. When Jimmy Carter was elected president, he made ending the negotiation process a priority, according to the Office of the Historian. In 1977, two treaties were presented to the US Senate: the Neutrality Treaty, which stated that the US could use its military to defend the canal, allowing “perpetual US use” of the waterway, and the Treaty of the Panama Canal, which would end its existence. of the Panama Canal Zone and allow the canal to be transferred to Panama in December 1999. As part of the second treaty, Panama would also become primarily responsible for the defense of the canal.
The treaties, known collectively as a Torrijos-Carter Treatiesthey were signed on September 7, 1977. In the spring of 1978, the US Senate voted to ratify the treaties, and Carter signed them into law on September 27, 1979. The canal was transferred to Panama on December 31, 1999, during the Clinton administration.
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Who operates the Panama Canal?
The Panama Canal has been owned and operated by the Panama Canal Authority, a government-owned agency, since 1999. The agency was established shortly before the canal was returned to Panama.
Since taking control of the waterway, the Panama Canal Authority has invested billions in expanding the canal. A $5.25 billion expansion of the canal opened in 2016, doubling the waterway’s capacity and reducing overall shipping costs by about $8 billion annually. CBS News previously reported. Expansion also allowed bigger ships to pass.
Who uses the Panama Canal?
About 40% of the world’s cargo ship traffic moves through the Panama Canal, CBS News previously reportedalthough recent droughts have forced operators to reduce vessel passages.
About two-thirds of the canal’s traffic is to or from the United States, although ships from around the world use the waterway every day, according to the Panama Canal Authority.
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Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the canal each year, the agency said.
Confrontation between Trump and the Panamanian president
Trump first appeared to suggest that the United States should take over the Panama Canal in one Published by TruthSocial on December 21.
He also posed the question to a crowd of supporters at Turning Point’s AmericaFest on Sunday, where he said Panama is charging “exorbitant prices” and said “the complete scam of our country will be stopped immediately.”
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question,” Trump said.
Wednesday, Trump said he would nominate Kevin Marino Cabrera, a member of the Miami-Dade International Trade Consortium, will be the United States Ambassador to Panama. In this announcementaccused Panama of “ripping us off in the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams.”
Trump continued to post online about reclaiming US ownership of the channel and referenced the channel in a Christmas Day message shared on TruthSocial. He warned of China’s possible influence on the waterway, although there is no Chinese presence in the canal, according to Reuters. A Hong Kong-based company operates two ports along the canal, Reuters said.
The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, said in a statement shared on social networks that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”
“We’ll see!” trump written online in response