The director of the Panama Canal Authority, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, has pushed back against President-elect Donald Trump’s recent claims and demands regarding the iconic waterway, calling them baseless and warning of the chaos that would result from his proposed changes.
Trump has added the Panama Canal to his list of territories he wants under U.S. control, alongside Greenland and Canada. He alleged that “China’s basically taken it over” and demanded the canal be “returned” to the United States. “China’s at both ends of the Panama Canal. China’s running the Panama Canal,” Trump said recently.
Vásquez Morales categorically denied these claims. “The accusations that China is running the Canal are unfounded. China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. “Rules are rules and there are no exceptions. We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, the Americans, or anyone else.
This will violate the neutrality treaty and international law, and it will lead to chaos.” Trump also alleged that U.S. ships are charged higher fees than other vessels to use the canal and demanded $3 billion for repairs. Vásquez Morales dismissed these assertions as untrue. “Panama hasn’t requested any U.S. funds to improve the canal, and I’m not aware of what $3 billion Trump is referring to because the authority funds repairs through its own revenues,” he said.
While a Hong Kong-based company operates two terminals near the canal, Vásquez Morales emphasized that the canal itself is solely controlled by the Panamanian government. The canal operates under strict neutrality and remains open to vessels from all nations.
The United States originally controlled the Panama Canal for decades after its construction, a period during which figures like the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) were famously born in the canal zone. However, a treaty signed in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter initiated a gradual transfer of control to Panama, culminating on December 31, 1999.
As Trump continues to raise questions about the canal’s operation, Vásquez Morales has made it clear that the Panamanian government will not bend to unfounded allegations or demands that violate international law. The canal remains a vital global shipping route and a symbol of Panama’s sovereignty.