Trump announces appointment of Florida official as U.S. ambassador to Panama

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would appoint Florida official Kevin Cabrera as ambassador to Panama. He wrote about this on December 25 in a post on his social network Truth Social.

He noted that Cabrera served as an official in Miami-Dade County in Florida and also worked on Trump's 2020 staff.

"I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a country that is ripping us off over the Panama Canal far beyond our wildest dreams," the president-elect announced.

Earlier on Dec. 22, Trump said the U.S. would demand that it regain control of the Panama Canal if the Central American republic did not renegotiate the terms of its use. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, in turn, emphasized that the canal can not become the property of the United States.

The neutrality of the canal in Panama was established in 1977, when treaties were signed between U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Isthmus leader Omar Torrijos. The document guarantees safe and open passage for all ships in both peacetime and wartime.