Donald Trump has demanded that the Panama Canal be given back to the US if Panama did not manage the waterway in a fashion that was acceptable to him – and he accused the central American country of charging excessive rates for use of the ocean-connecting ship passage. “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late Saturday, a little more than a month before the start of his second US presidency. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.
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” In the evening post, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the “wrong hands”. And he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China. Trump said the Panama Canal was a “vital national asset” for the US, calling it “crucial” for commerce and national security.
The warning comes days after Trump mused in an early-morning thought blast that Canadians might want Canada to become America’s 51st state, taunting prime minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor Trudeau”. Trump’s Panama thinking underscores an expected shift in US diplomacy after he takes office in January, particularly in regard to China and European security. On Friday, the Financial Times reported that Trump’s team had told European officials that he will demand NATO member states increase defence spending to .