Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino today strongly rejected a State Department claim that his country had agreed to allow U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal without charge.
“I am incredibly surprised by yesterday’s statement,” Mr. Mulino told a news conference in Panama City. “They’re making an important, institutional statement from the entity that governs U.S. foreign policy…based on a falsity. And that’s intolerable.”
The State Department had alleged in a statement on X that its government vessels “can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the US government millions of dollars a year.”
The statement followed a visit to the Panama Canal last weekend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who demanded that Panama make “immediate changes” to what he calls the “influence and control” of China over the canal.
During his visit. Mr. Rubio met Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino and canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales.
Last Sunday, President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to “take back” the Panama Canal, warning of “powerful” U.S. action in an escalating diplomatic dispute over China’s presence around the vital waterway.
Mr. Mulino’s clarification followed a statement yesterday from the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) which asserted it was “empowered to set tolls and other fees for transiting the canal,” adding that it had “not made any adjustments to them”.
The ACP further stated: “With absolute responsibility, the Panama Canal Authority, as it has indicated, is willing to establish a dialogue with the relevant officials of the United States regarding the transit of warships from that country.”
(ACP photo shows Raúl Mulino , Marco Rubio touring the Miraflores Locks on Feb. 2)