Published: 11:15, December 23, 2024 | Updated: 16:53, December 23, 2024
Mulino: The canal will remain ‘in Panamanian hands’
By Xinhua
This combination of file pictures created on Dec 22, 2024 shows a handout picture released by the Panamanian Presidency of President Jose Raul Mulino (left) speaking during a press conference at the Las Garzas government palace in Panama City, on Oct 3, 2024 and US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on Dec 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (PHOTO / AFP)

PANAMA CITY - Panama's president Jose Raul Mulino said Sunday that the canal will "continue to be in Panamanian hands" after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to retake it.

Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to Panama and "will remain so," and "the sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable," Mulino said in a social media video post.

Trump on Saturday called the Panama Canal "a VITAL National Asset for the United States," threatening to retake the canal, citing "exorbitant prices" on US ships.

ALSO READ: Trump says he might demand Panama hand over canal

Mulino said he hopes to maintain a "respectful" relationship with the next US government. He also pointed out that security issues such as illegal migration, drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime should be a priority in the two countries' bilateral agenda.

He recalled that according to the Torrijos-Carter Treaties signed in 1977 by the then-Panamanian president Omar Torrijos and then-US president Jimmy Carter, Panamanians recovered their sovereignty over the canal on December 31, 1999.

A cargo ship waits its turn to cross the Panama Canal in Panama City on March 28, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Mulino added that the Torrijos-Carter Treaties established the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal, "guaranteeing its open and safe operation for all nations. (...) any position to the contrary is invalid."

"(The tariffs) are established based on an open hearing, considering market conditions, international competition, operating costs and the maintenance and modernization needs of the interoceanic waterway," said Mulino.

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"The Canal will continue to be in Panamanian hands as an inalienable patrimony of our nation and guaranteeing its use for the peaceful and uninterrupted transit of ships of all nations," said the Panamanian president.