(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his pick for US ambassador to Panama. Trump named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as his choice for the post after suggesting that the US should take control of the Panama Canal – a proposal he first floated over the weekend while claiming that Panama is “ripping off” American ships that pass through the waterway. “I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams,” Trump said in a statement.
The president-elect added Cabrera, who also worked for his presidential campaign in Florida, “will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!” Trump on Wednesday continued to tease US territorial expansion in social media posts, criticizing the operation of the canal and doubling down on suggestions the US should absorb Canada and Greenland, a territory controlled by Denmark. In a sardonic Christmas message, Trump claimed Chinese soldiers are operating the Panama Canal and reiterated his criticism that Panama is exploiting US vessels that use the waterway. “Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Doll.