The former NATO commander-in-chief called the consequences for the United States of the possible seizure of the Panama Canal

The intention of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to gain control of the Panama Canal may lead to the destruction of authority USA in Latin America. James Stavridis, former Supreme Commander of the United Armed Forces of NATO, wrote about this on January 24 for the agency href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-01-24/trump-s-plan-to-take-panama-canal-would-be-dumb-and-difficult">Bloomberg.

"From a political and diplomatic point of view, the appropriation of the Panama Canal would be a disaster for US relations throughout the American continent," the American military official said.

According to him, the United States would instantly lose all credibility in the region, influence in the Organization of American States and leverage to get help in solving problems such as drugs and migration.

"From a strategic point of view, seizing the channel by force would play incredibly well into the hands of America's opponents," wrote a Bloomberg columnist.

According to Stavridis, Russia would emphasize that the United States is showing hypocrisy by opposing the conflict on Ukraine at a time when "they themselves are attacking a small, vulnerable neighbor."

Stavridis expressed the opinion that Panamanians will fight for the status of the Panama Canal and will receive great political and, possibly, military support from other Latin American countries.

"An actual attack aimed at seizing the channel would be a significant mistake in all respects and would lead to many dangerous consequences both in America and around the world," Stavridis concluded.

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Earlier, on January 20, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino rejected the statements of the incoming President of the United States, Trump, about his intention to gain control of the Panama Canal and emphasized its belonging to the country. In his inaugural speech, Trump promised href="https://iz.ru/1825496/2025-01-20/tramp-poobeshchal-vernut-ssha-panamskii-kanal-i-pereimenovat-meksikanskii-zaliv " target="_blank">return the Panama Canal to the United States and rename the Gulf of Mexico to the American One. The President of Panama separately stressed that "there is not a single country in the world that would interfere" in the management of the canal.

After that, on January 23, it was reported that US Secretary of State Marco href="https://iz.ru/1826843/2025-01-23/bloomberg-soobshchilo-o-planakh-gossekretaria-ssha-posetit-panamu"> Rubio plans to visit Panama after Trump's promises to regain control of the Panama Canal. It was noted that the visit was to take place next week as part of a tour of Latin America.