The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated this Wednesday that his administration will not allow the Chinese regime to expand its influence over the Panama Canal, warning that the strategic interoceanic route is a fundamentally important asset for U.S. security and interests.
During a speech delivered at the inauguration ceremony of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota, Trump questioned the decision made decades ago by Democrat Jimmy Carter to transfer control of the canal to Panama and argued that the measure ultimately benefited the Central American country economically while opening the door to a growing Chinese presence in the region.
''The Panama Canal should never have been handed over,'' the president asserted. He explained that after taking control of the route, Panama significantly increased transit tolls for ships without reducing the flow of vessels. ''First, they quadrupled the prices and did not lose a single ship. Then they raised them again and continued to make enormous amounts of money,'' he noted.
Trump went further by warning that Beijing seeks to consolidate its presence around the canal, a possibility he deemed unacceptable for Washington. ''China is planning to take control of the Panama Canal and we will not let that happen,'' he declared, reaffirming his administration's commitment to preventing the Chinese Communist Party from increasing its influence over one of the most important maritime routes in global trade.
The statements came in a context of growing strategic competition between the United States and China in Latin America, where Washington has repeatedly expressed concern over the expansion of investments, infrastructure, and political influence driven by Xi Jinping's regime. The Trump administration has maintained that Chinese presence in critical sectors poses a challenge to U.S. national security and to the geopolitical balance in the Western Hemisphere.
During his remarks, the president also paid tribute to former President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he credited with a decisive role in the construction of the Panama Canal and highlighted as one of the historical figures he admires most.
