Panama is seeking to preserve a “respectful, transparent and mutually beneficial” relationship with the United States, even as US President Donald Trump repeats threats to retake control of the Panama Canal, foreign minister Javier Martinez-Acha said on Saturday, according to the news agency AFP.
His remarks came ahead of a scheduled visit by US defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who will arrive in Panama next week to attend the 2025 Central American Security Conference. The visit has taken on added significance after Trump’s recent claims of Chinese interference in canal operations, and his insistence that the US should never have given up the waterway.
In a post on X following a call with US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau, Martinez-Acha wrote, “I reiterated that all cooperation from Panama will take place under the framework of our constitution, our laws, and the Canal Neutrality Treaty.”
He added that issues like “illegal migration, organized crime, drug trafficking” were also discussed in what he described as “a cordial and constructive exchange.”
According to the US state department, Landau expressed appreciation for Panama’s help in drastically cutting down illegal migration through the dangerous Darien jungle, by nearly 98 per cent.
Panama has denied Trump’s suggestion that China holds sway over the canal. As reported by AFP, Martinez-Acha highlighted the recent sale of a Hong Kong-based company’s port operations in Panama to US investment firm BlackRock, a move seen as reducing any potential Chinese footprint in the canal’s vicinity. Panama’s comptroller has launched an audit of the Hong Kong firm, CK Hutchison, which previously operated the ports of Balboa and Cristobal at either end of the waterway.
The BlackRock-led acquisition includes control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the two near the Panama Canal. The deal, scheduled to close on April 2, is still awaiting final approval, while Chinese regulators have launched a probe into the transaction, reported AP.
The US and China are the largest users of the canal, which carries about five percent of global maritime trade. Built by the United States and inaugurated in 1914, it was handed over to Panama in 1999 under the 1977 treaty signed by then-President Jimmy Carter.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the treaty, saying Carter “foolishly” gave the canal away.
Despite rising tensions, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth’s trip aims to reinforce “ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere.”
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