The Canal Belongs to the Panamanians
By Roberto Morejón
The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, caused a wave of condemnation when he threatened to return his country’s control over the Panama Canal.
As part of his announced belligerent foreign policy that will trample on inescapable principles, the Republican said that the northern power should regain control of the vital waterway because, in his opinion, Panama charges high rates for its use.
Trump's boasts were challenged by the country's president, José Raúl Mulino, who emphasized that "every square meter of the canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will remain so."
"The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable," Mulino added.
The attack of the former president of the great power also provoked logical manifestations of rejection in the political, trade union and social sectors of Panama.
Governments such as those of Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Chile accused the real estate magnate of arrogance, which he also justified with his anti-China obsession, because in his view Beijing is expanding its influence in Latin America.
It is worth noting the expansionist content of Trump's conceit, who also claimed that the United States should own Greenland, currently under Danish rule, an idea that was proposed in his first term.
A few weeks ago, Trump uttered other diatribes against Canada, which he threatened, like Mexico, to impose high tariffs on its products in the face of what he described as little cooperation in the migratory sphere.
Members of the president-elect's team tried to soften the impact of his hostile statements towards other countries, recalling that his boss defends the policy of what he calls "America First", the slogan with which he used in his campaigns.
Analysts underlined that with his insults, Trump shows his eagerness to use the power of his country as a tool of pressure to obtain concessions.
In addition, as usual, the future president ignores nationalist sentiments, such as those of Latin Americans and Caribbeans, in the sense of recognizing the full Panamanian sovereignty over the canal and the historic achievement of the then president Omar Torrijos, in the recovery of the inter-oceanic waterway.
