President-elect Donald J. Trump's suggestion Tuesday that the United States might take back the Panama Canal, possibly by force, comes as President-elect Donald J. It upset people. .
Few seemed to be taking Trump's threats seriously, but Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha held a press conference hours after the incoming US president mused aloud about taking back the US-built canal. clarified the country's position. However, it was transferred to Panama in the late 1990s.
“Sovereignty of our canals is non-negotiable and part of our history of struggle and irreversible conquest,” Martinez Acha said. “Let's be clear: The canal belongs to the Panamanian people and will always remain that way.”
Experts say Mr. Trump's real goal was to intimidate, perhaps to secure preferential treatment from the Panamanian government for U.S. ships using the route. More broadly, they said, he may be trying to send a strong message across the region that will be critical to his goal of controlling the flow of migrants toward the U.S. border.
“If the United States wanted to ignore international law and act like Vladimir Putin, it could invade Panama and take back the canal,” said Benjamin, director of the Latin America program at the Wilson Center in Washington. Gedan said, adding, “No one would think of it that way.” This is a legal action and would not only cause serious damage to the canal's image, but would also destabilize the canal. ”
In recent weeks, as he prepares to take office, Trump has repeatedly talked about not only seizing the Panama Canal but also buying Greenland from Denmark (although it is not actually for sale). but). He returned to those expansionist themes in a rambling speech Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, this time refusing to rule out using military force to retake the canal.
“We may have to do something,” Trump said.
Trump's comments have not resonated with the Panamanian people.
Raul Arias de Parra, an ecotourism entrepreneur and a descendant of one of the nation's founding politicians, said talk of American military power evoked memories among his compatriots of the 1989 American invasion of Panama. Ta. He pointed out that the objectives of military operations at that time were: remove the country's authoritarian leader Manuel Noriega;
“It was not an invasion aimed at colonization or seizing territory,” Arias de Parra said. “While it was a tragedy for those who lost loved ones, we were liberated from a terrible dictatorship.”
Regarding Trump's threat to send in the military to retake the canal, he said, “It's very unlikely and very foolish.” He said the United States has the right under the treaty to defend the canal if its operation is threatened, “but that is not the case.”
Some experts say Mr. Trump received a letter from Panamanian President Jose Raúl Mulino to stem the flow of migrants through the Darien Canyon, a jungle region that hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed on their journey. He said he may be hoping to get a commitment to try harder. It's moving far north, fueling a surge at the U.S. border.
Mulino is already focused on stopping immigration.
Jorge Eduardo Ritter, a former foreign minister and Panama's first canal minister, said, “There is no country with which the United States has cooperated more on immigration issues than Panama.''
On his first day in office, Mulino approved a deal with the United States to curb immigration through the Darien region using U.S.-funded flights to repatriate immigrants who entered Panama illegally. Since then, the number of crossings has fallen significantly, to the lowest number in almost two years.
If the Trump administration carries out mass deportations of illegal immigrants, Latin American and Caribbean countries would have to agree to accept planes carrying not only their expelled citizens but also nationals from other countries, and Panama has agreed to do so. I haven't. do.
Experts said Mr. Trump was likely aiming to discount U.S. ships, which account for the largest proportion of ships plying ocean-to-ocean routes. Tolls are rising as the Panama Canal Authority grapples with drought and the cost of building new reservoirs to combat it.
“The next president will compromise on a U.S. discount on the canal and declare victory,” said Gedan of the Wilson Center.
He said many experts on the region view Trump's belligerent rhetoric as “standard operating procedure for past and future presidents to use threats and intimidation even against America's partners and friends.” It is said that he is looking at it.
After lengthy negotiations, the United States, then under President Jimmy Carter, agreed to a plan to gradually hand over the canal it built in Panama in the late 1970s. The replacement was completed in December 1999.
Theories have been swirling this week about why Trump appears to be focused on the canal. Some noted that ceding the canal to Panama is a long-standing thorn in the side of Republicans.
Some said Trump was angry that the ports at the end of the canal were controlled by Hong Kong companies. Panama's president dismissed these concerns.
“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything related to the Panama Canal,” Mulino said at a press conference in December.
Panama, a small country with a population of over 4 million people and without an active military according to its constitution, is in no position to stop the US military. But experts agreed that protests were likely to erupt, paralyzing the Panama Canal and potentially having a devastating impact on global trade, especially the United States.
Ritter, a former foreign secretary, told Panama he could only hope that the United States would abide by international law. “This is a case of an egg hitting a stone,” he said.
