President Jose Raul Mulino of Panama firmly ruled out discussions about the control of the Panama Canal with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his upcoming visit. This statement comes in light of Donald Trump's claims that China has military presence there, with Panama strongly denying these allegations. Mulino underscored that the canal officially belongs to Panama, having been overseen by the Panamanian government since control was transferred from the US in 1999. He emphasized that there are more pressing issues to address with Rubio, including migration and drug trafficking.
I cannot negotiate and much less open a process of negotiation on the canal, Mulino said. That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama.
The US built the canal in the early 20th century and handed control to Panama in 1999, two decades after signing a set of treaties guaranteeing its permanent neutrality.
I have received absolutely no information from the US embassy in Panama nor from the secretary of state... about the alleged military presence of another country in the canal.
Panama had many other issues to discuss with Rubio, Mulino said, such as migration and drug trafficking.
Collection
[
|
...
]