Donald Trump strongly warned on Wednesday that he will not allow China to gain control of the Panama Canal, during an event at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, held in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.
“China is trying to take control of the Panama Canal, and I cannot allow that to happen,” declared the leader before the audience gathered in North Dakota, in a speech marked by references to the defense of the global influence of the United States.
"We give it away. We give it away."
The president devoted a significant portion of his speech to reviewing the history of the canal, expressing regret over the decision to transfer its control to Panama in 1999.
“We lost 38,000 people building the Panama Canal, our people, 38,000 people died building the Panama Canal. It was inaugurated, and from day one, it was a great success, and we gave it away. We gave it away.”, he stated.
Trump described the project as “the most expensive thing we’ve ever built, and also the most profitable,” emphasizing the historical sacrifice that, in his opinion, was not reciprocated by the decision to cede sovereignty.
This stance is not new.
In January 2025, during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump had already stated: "The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It is operated by China. We handed it over to Panama, not to China, and they have abused that gift. That decision should never have been made."
The rates and "the enormous sums of money"
Trump also criticized the Panamanian management of the canal's economy, accusing Panama of enriching itself at the expense of the users of the interoceanic route.
“The first thing they did was multiply the rates for boats by four,” he pointed out; and he added that “then they raised it again, twice.” “All they did was make huge amounts of money for years and years,” the leader concluded.
An escalation that has been ongoing for over a year
The statements made this Wednesday are part of a sustained pressure from Washington on Panama and China that began before Trump took office in January 2025.
In February 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Panama and demanded "immediate changes," warning that the status quo was "unacceptable." Shortly after, Panama announced that it would not renew its participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative.
In January 2026, the Supreme Court of Panama declared the concession of the Hong Kong company CK Hutchison Holdings to operate the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal unconstitutional, after it was revealed that its Panamanian subsidiary had ceased paying the state approximately 1.2 billion dollars.
As a retaliation, China detained at least 70 vessels flying the Panamanian flag in its ports.
The State Department responded in April 2026 with a statement of support for Panama's sovereignty, deeming China's actions as a "direct threat to global maritime trade."
The Canal accounts for approximately 5% of global maritime trade and has been exclusively managed by the Panama Canal Authority since 1999.
The Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino has repeatedly rejected these claims, insisting that "the only hands that control the canal are Panamanian."
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