Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Netanyahu: If Lebanese Army takes steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including phased reduction of Israeli military presence in Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Photojournalist Houssam Al-Masri martyred, reporters Hatem Omar, Mohammad Ashraf Salameh injured in Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex.
Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace

Panamanians united in rejecting Trump’s threat over Canal control

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 25 Dec 2024 10:26
3 Min Read

The member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) also strongly condemned the statements made by Trump.

Listen
  • x
  • Panama
    Demonstrators hold a banner that reads "Donald Trump, public enemy of Panama," during a protest outside the US embassy in Panama City on December 24, 2024. (AFP)

The sovereignty of the Panama Canal is non-negotiable, underlined President Jose Raul Mulino in a statement released Monday and co-signed by former Panamanian presidents, following recent comments by US President-elect Donald Trump threatening to reclaim control of the canal.

On Saturday, Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on US ships using the man-made canal and suggested that Washington might demand control of the vital waterway be restored.

If Panama could not ensure "the secure, efficient and reliable operation" of the channel, "then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question," he warned.

In response, Mulino firmly dismissed Trump’s remarks on Sunday, stressing that "every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama."

The president reiterated this stance on Monday in a joint statement also signed by former leaders Ernesto Perez Balladares, Martin Torrijos, and Mireya Moscoso.

The statement emphasized that "the sovereignty of our country and our canal are not negotiable," adding that the canal "is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest."

The leaders issued the declaration after a meeting at the Panamanian government’s headquarters.

"Panamanians may think differently in many aspects, but when it comes to our canal and our sovereignty, we all unite under the same flag."

Related News

Valery Zaluzhny: From Ukraine top general to presidential prospect

FP: Why the Global South won't pick sides in US-China rivalry

Support for the declaration extended beyond the signatories, with former President Laurentino Cortizo expressing solidarity on social media, joined by ex-leader Ricardo Martinelli.

The Panama Canal, a critical 80-kilometer (50-mile) waterway facilitating 5% of global maritime trade, was built by the United States in 1914 and transferred to Panamanian control in 1999 under the terms of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter treaties. The canal’s primary users include the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and Chile.

The member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) also strongly condemned the statements made by Trump.

The ALBA alliance said it unequivocally rejected this new threat to the Latin American and Caribbean region and expressed its full support for Panama in its efforts to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and right to self-determination.

Protests in Panama condemn Trump’s remarks on Canal control

In a related context, Panamanians took to the streets on Tuesday to denounce Trump after his threat to demand control of the Panama Canal be returned to Washington.

Outside the US embassy in Panama City, protesters burned an image of Trump while chanting slogans such as "Trump, animal, leave the canal alone" and "Get out, invading gringo." Demonstrators carried banners branding Trump a "public enemy of Panama."

"The [Panamanian] people have shown that they are capable of recovering their territory and we are not going to give it up again," protester Jorge Guzman told AFP.

Saul Mendez, leader of a prominent construction union that co-organized the demonstration, echoed the sentiment, saying, "Panama is a sovereign territory and the canal here is Panamanian."

"Donald Trump and his imperial delusion cannot claim even a single centimeter of land in Panama," he underscored.

  • United States
  • Panama
  • Panama canal
  • US
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)

Hamas, other factions accept Egypt-Qatar ceasefire proposal: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 18 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS