PANAMA CITY: Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out negotiations with the United States over ownership of the Panama Canal as he prepares to host Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump, in his inaugural address on Jan 20, alleged that China was effectively “operating” the waterway which the United States handed to the Central American nation in 1999.

“We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said. But Mulino said opening negotiations on ownership of the canal “is impossible.” “I cannot negotiate, much less open a process of negotiations on the canal. That (the matter) is sealed. The canal is Panama’s,” he said at his weekly press conference.

Panama, long a friend of the United States, has complained to the United Nations over Trump’s threat. Nevertheless, Mulino said there are common issues such as migration and the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking that he would be happy to discuss with Rubio when he visits in the coming days.

“We are more than willing to talk with respect and very clearly... with the secretary of state,” said the president, without giving a date for the meeting.

Rubio’s first trip abroad as Trump’s top envoy will take him to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

The visit comes amid high tension between Latin America and Washington over Trump’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, most of whom come from the region.

Despite the strain, Mulino stressed that Panama had a “privileged relationship” with the United States, “not China.” “The relationship with the United States is strong, it has always been so, there have been ups and downs, love and hate, but there has always been a strong relationship that... has allowed us to overcome very, very complicated situations,” he said.

Constructed by the United States and opened in 1914, the canal was administered by America until 1977, when treaties were signed under then-US president Jimmy Carter for its handover to Panama.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025

Opinion

Editorial

All out
Updated 25 Feb, 2025

All out

PAKISTAN cricket captain Mohammad Rizwan’s assessment was brutal — it could not have been any other way. At ...
Bearing the brunt
25 Feb, 2025

Bearing the brunt

FOR the past several months, we have repeatedly been told by the prime minister and his cabinet that the government...
Afghan resettlement
25 Feb, 2025

Afghan resettlement

AFGHAN refugees who fled their country after the Taliban took over in 2021, and who hoped to resettle in the West,...
Taliban divisions
Updated 24 Feb, 2025

Taliban divisions

The only workable solution lies in Mullah Akhundzada loosening his iron grip on the country.
Oblivious to drought
24 Feb, 2025

Oblivious to drought

PAKISTAN faces two types of drought: one caused by dry weather or lower-than-normal rainfall, and the other ...
Digital children
24 Feb, 2025

Digital children

AS most parents with young children will agree, the easiest way to pacify a bawling child is to hand them a...