Monday
Monday 23rd December 2024.
December 22, 2024
The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump , launched this Saturday, December 21, 2024, a harsh threat against Panama and the administration of the Panama Canal .
Trump’s message was posted on the social network Truth and on an account close to him on X, but the statement is not on X’s official account @realdonaldtrump.
Trump called the waterway a “vital national asset” for the United States and described the transfer of management of the Canal to Panamanian hands as an act of extraordinary generosity on the part of the United States.
Trump, who will assume the presidency of the United States on January 20, 2025, said that former President Jimmy Carter gave the Canal to Panama “for a dollar, during his term, it was the exclusive responsibility of Panama, not China or anyone else.”
“Neither was Panama given the right to charge the United States, its Navy, and the corporations doing business within our country exorbitant prices and transit fees. Our Navy and our commerce have been treated very unfairly and recklessly. The fees Panama is charging are ridiculous, especially considering the extraordinary generosity the United States has provided to Panama. This complete “abuse” of our country will stop immediately,” reads a statement posted on the website.
Trump said the United States has a vested interest in the safe, efficient and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and will never allow it to fall into the wrong hands.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of generosity are not respected, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in its entirety and without question. I ask Panamanian officials to be guided accordingly!” the message states.
This is not the first time Trump has referred to the management of the Panama Canal. In August 2023, he said: “China controls the Panama Canal,” in an interview with the communicator Tucker Carlson that was broadcast on X.
The message, as he began his race to return to the US Presidency, was similar to that of this Saturday, when he said that the Canal was sold for one dollar and that he could not allow China to control or manage the interoceanic route.
President José Raúl Mulino categorically reaffirmed that the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone are the exclusive heritage of Panamanians. The statement comes in response to statements by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump , who hinted at possible claims on the interoceanic route.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama and will continue to do so. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable , ” the president said.
Mulino recalled that the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 were fundamental in the process of transferring the Canal, an agreement that recognized the full sovereignty of Panama and culminated on December 31, 1999. Twenty-five years after that historic transfer, the president stressed that, since then, there have been no objections or claims, but rather growing international support and a strong feeling of national pride.
In his message, Mulino also emphasized that the Canal is not under the control of any foreign power, be it China, the United States or the European Community. He assured that the Canal is an asset that Panama manages with total autonomy and that its mission is to serve humanity and world trade in a neutral and open manner for all nations.
He also stressed that the Panama Canal has been expanded and modernized by sovereign decision of the Panamanians, with tariffs established in a public and transparent manner, taking into account market conditions, international competition and the operational needs of the waterway.
Finally, the president reaffirmed Panama’s commitment to sovereignty and peace, recalling the importance of maintaining respectful relations with the new United States government. However, he made it clear that, although there are many issues of bilateral cooperation, such as illegal migration and drug trafficking, the Canal is an issue that unites all Panamanians under one flag. For Mulino, the defense of the homeland, and in particular of the Canal, is an unwavering principle. “The homeland comes first,” he concluded, calling for national unity in the face of any attempt to question Panamanian sovereignty over this vital interoceanic route.
Both Jorge Luis Quijano and Alberto Alemán Zubieta rejected the comments, which they described as worrying and unfortunate, defending Panamanian sovereignty and the efficient administration of the Canal.
Quijano stressed that the Panama Canal is exclusively administered by Panama, under Article V of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality of the Canal and the Operation of the Panama Canal, which clearly establishes that “only the Republic of Panama will manage the Canal.” “There is no clause that allows the United States to recover the Canal,” he said. The former administrator acknowledged that, as the main user of the Canal, the United States has the right to express comments on transit costs, as have other actors, such as shipping companies, shipowner associations and distributors. However, Quijano explained that the recent complaints probably stem from the impact that the tariffs have on American importers and exporters.
Quijano also stressed that Canal tariffs, including tolls, must be aligned with Article 3, paragraph 1(c) of the Neutrality Treaty, which states that “tolls and other fees for transit services shall be fair, reasonable, equitable and consistent with the principles of international law.” In this context, he recalled that since the Canal came under Panamanian administration 25 years ago, tariff adjustments have been designed to maintain the competitiveness and reliability of the route, while seeking to maximize the value of the interoceanic route.
For his part, Alemán Zubieta expressed his rejection of the recent statements by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, calling them “unfortunate.”
Alemán Zubieta recalled that the transfer of the Canal to Panama was the result of decades of struggle and complex negotiations that culminated with the signing of the historic Torrijos-Carter Treaty at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) , an agreement that had the support of the international community and represented a significant advance in relations between Panama and the United States.
He also highlighted that, in the 25 years since the transfer, Panama has proven to be an efficient and responsible administrator of the Canal, operating under the highest international standards. He stressed that the country has successfully taken on the challenge of expanding and modernizing this strategic infrastructure to adapt it to the needs of contemporary maritime trade.
Zubieta reaffirmed that the Panama Canal constitutes an inalienable heritage of the Panamanian Nation, as established by the country’s Constitution. This management model, unique in its kind, guarantees that the Canal will always be operated and administered exclusively by the Republic of Panama.
Panama is expected to receive 2.9 million visitors in 2024, which would represent an increase of more than 400,000 people compared to the figures recorded in 2023.
With the year coming to an end, two of the main associations related to this activity estimate that it is unlikely that the established goal will be reached . They warn that, according to trends, the flow of visitors will end at levels very similar to those of last year, when 2.5 million travelers were registered.
Unlike in 2023, when end-of-year protests against the mining contract affected visitor numbers, this year there was no event that negatively impacted the movement of travelers. However, the tourism sector points to the election year as the main reason that will prevent the target set for early 2024 from being reached.
Fernando Machado, president of the Panamanian Hotel Association (Apatel), commented that, historically, the flow of travelers has decreased when there is a change of government. He indicated that hotel occupancy in the capital city is around 56.7% , although he clarified that this is only a reflection of hotels of international chains, since Panama does not have updated statistics.
Machado considered the decision of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) to hire specialized services to really know the hotel occupancy in the country to be positive. Recently, the administrator of the ATP, Gloria De León, declared to La Prensa that the institution hired the services of Smith Travel Research (STR), a company that provides data, analysis and research on the hotel industry. This service will be paid for by the ATP, but hoteliers must provide information on occupancy, key data to measure the performance of the sector, said De León.
With Christmas just a few days away, and with last-minute shopping, there will be those who are looking to find deals to prepare Christmas Eve dinner as cheaply as possible.
A survey conducted by the Consumer Protection and Competition Authority (Acodeco) details the prices of Christmas dinner by province and considers the main ingredient of the dish to be either ham, turkey, chicken or poult.
The cheapest Christmas dinner with ham for four people is recorded by Acodeco in West Panama where it can cost $71.32, while the most expensive one with this protein is in Los Santos at $83.05.
In West Panama, a turkey dinner costs $74.94 and a chicken dinner costs $57.16. In Los Santos, a turkey dinner costs over $84 and a chicken dinner costs $64.52.
In the province of Herrera, the cheapest dinner is obtained with turkey for a total of $72.27, with turkey chicken $68.02 and with chicken $53.59 with chicken.
In Veraguas, a dinner with ham will cost $72.56, with turkey $73.71 and with chicken $55.21.
Prices in Colón range from $76.94 for a Christmas dinner with ham, $77.07 for turkey and $57.98 for chicken. In Bocas del Toro, the most expensive Christmas basket is the one with turkey, which costs $86.19, and the cheapest is the one with chicken, at $62.76.
Acodeco points out that to make up the Christmas dinner, they considered a basket of 25 products including a 33-ounce bagel without nuts; mixed nuts (400 g); fruit jam (14 oz); olives (7 oz); capers (7 oz); rice (5 pounds); can of pigeon peas (15 oz.); 1 pound of potatoes; 1 pound of onion; 1 dozen eggs; apples, grapes and pears (one pound each); rum punch (750 ml.) and sliced pineapple (20 ounces), in addition to 10 pounds of protein, be it turkey, chicken, poult or ham, according to preference and budget.