Panama firmly rejects U.S. calls to revisit canal control
- I cannot negotiate, let alone open a process of negotiation regarding the canal, - said Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday, shortly before the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. - It is settled. The canal belongs to Panama - he declared.
During a meeting with media representatives, Panama's president categorically ruled out any talks about changing the status of the waterway connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific. Mulino referred in this way to the need repeatedly raised by the new U.S. administration to re-evaluate the management of the Canal.
- I cannot negotiate, let alone open a process of negotiation on this matter - said Mulino, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's upcoming visit to Panama this weekend. - It is settled. The canal belongs to Panama - he added.
"We have other issues to discuss"
During the election campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly emphasized the need to change the management of the Panama Canal, accusing Panamanian authorities of giving control to China. He even claimed that China had soldiers there. Mulino firmly denied these accusations, stressing that the canal's administration has always been in Panama's hands.
The Panamanian leader also emphasized that he "received no information from the U.S. embassy in Panama or from the secretary of state about any foreign military presence in the Canal."
As Mulino said, Panama has many other issues to discuss with Rubio, such as migration and drug trafficking.
