President-elect Donald Trump has indicated for days that he intends for the U.S. to take back control of the Panama Canal, and said in statement shared to social media on Christmas that Panama is “ripping us off.”
According to the U.S. Office of the Historian, President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of the Panama Canal from 1903 through 1914. Creating a trade route waterway in the region had already been a longtime goal at that point.
With the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, the U.S. was provided a 10-mile wide strip of land for the canal. There was also a one-time $10 million payment to Panama and an annual annuity of $250,000. Furthermore, the U.S. agreed to guarantee the independence of Panama.
“Although U.S. control of the canal eventually became an irritant to U.S.-Panamanian relations, at the time it was heralded as a major foreign policy achievement,” said the Office of the Historian.
Tension regarding the canal increased between the U.S. and Panama throughout the 20th century, and by the early 1970s, plans to shift control of the canal were already underway. While former president Jimmy Carter indicated on the campaign trail that he wouldn’t support giving up control of the Panama Canal, he changed his mind once in office and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties were ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1978.
“These treaties gave the nation of Panama eventual control of the Panama Canal,” the Office of the Historian explained.
While the treaties were ultimately ratified, there was considerable opposition and they just barely passed. After they were passed, the Torrijos-Carter Treaties allowed the U.S. to defend itself from charges of imperialism made by Soviet-aligned states. In 1999, the canal was turned over to Panamanian control.
“Administration of the canal has been more efficient under Panama than during the U.S. era, with traffic increasing 17% between fiscal years 1999 and 2004,” the Associated Press reported. A $5.2 billion expansion of the canal to accommodate larger ships was completed in 2016.
Since the expansion, the waterway registers nearly 14,000 transits per year, roughly equal to 6% of global trade, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Most of the cargo that goes through the canal (66%) starts or ends its journey at a U.S. port, while 13% of its cargo is from or headed to China.
“China is the primary source of products going through the Colón Free Trade Zone and its increasing presence in and around the Canal has made the waterway a flashpoint for U.S.-China competition over spheres of influence,” the CSIS explained.
This month, Trump has suggested multiple times that the U.S. take over the canal, starting with a Dec. 21 Truth Social post. During Turning Point’s AmericaFest on Sunday, he said Panama is charging “exorbitant prices” and said the “complete ripoff of our country will immediately stop,” CBS News reported.
However, the Associated Press noted that taking control over the Panama Canal would not be an easy project.
“There’s very little wiggle room, absent a second U.S. invasion of Panama, to retake control of the Panama Canal in practical terms,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, as quoted by the outlet. Gedan also said that Trump’s stance seems “baffling,” given that Panama’s president is a pro-business conservative.
“As President, I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be,” said Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino in a Dec. 22 statement.
In his Christmas Day statement, Trump also announced his nomination of Kevin Marino Cabrera, a Miami-Dade County Commissioner, as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Panama.
“In 2020, Kevin did an incredible job as my Florida State Director and, this year, advanced our MAGA Agenda as a Member of the RNC Platform Committee,” said Trump. “Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin - He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!”
Per his Miami-Dade County biography, Cabrera was born in Miami, Fla. to Cuban exiles, went to South Miami Senior High School, graduated with honors from Miami Dade College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida International University, where he graduated cum laude. In addition to serving as a commissioner, he served as director of constituent services for a member of the United States House of Representatives. As a commissioner, Cabrera serves as vice chair of the International Trade Consortium and the Community Safety, Security, and Emergency Management Committee.