Panama's president called the U.S. State Department's statement about shipping in the Panama Canal a lie

The statement of the U.S. State Department about the right of free passage through the Panama Canal for U.S. government vessels is a lie. This statement was made by Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino at a press conference on February 6.

The decision of the Panamanian authorities to cancel the fees for passage through the Panama Canal for vessels belonging to the U.S. government was reported by the U.S. State Department the day before.

"Why on behalf of an organization that manages U.S. foreign policy under the leadership of the head of state are they making an important institutional statement based on lies?" - Reuters quoted him as saying.

Mulino also called the statements unacceptable.

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Earlier, on December 22, 2024, US President Donald Trump said the state would demand the return of control over the Panama Canal if the Central American republic did not renegotiate the terms of its use.

At his inauguration on January 20 this year, Trump once again repeated the thesis that the Panama Canal is "managed" by China, and therefore the United States intends to "take back" the waterway. The president of Panama, in turn, again rejected the Republican's statements on this topic and emphasized the belonging of the canal to his country.

Bloomberg reported on January 23 that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to visit Pan ama after Trump's promises to take back control of the Panama Canal.

During a meeting with Mulino on Feb. 2, Rubio said that Trump has no intention of maintaining the status quo in the Panama Canal due to China's increased influence in the region. Rubio called the situation unacceptable and added that Washington will have to take the necessary defense measures if the situation does not change. In turn, Mulino said he refused to extend the agreement with China within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.