The Panamanian President in response to Trump: “The Canal is Panamanian”
Panama President José Raul Molino rejected US President Donald Trump’s statements about his intention to restore the Panama Canal.
President José Raul Molino confirmed that the vital sea passage will remain under his country’s control.
He said, In a statement published on social media: “The Canal is Panama and will remain so.”
We will restore the Panama Canal.
Trump had said during his inauguration ceremony as President of the United States that the United States would restore The Panama Canal, but he did not go into more detail than that.
The American President added: “The purpose of our agreement and the spirit of our treaty have been completely violated.”
What is the Panama Canal?
The Panama Canal is an 82-kilometre artificial waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via Panama, saving ships thousands of miles and weeks of travel around the stormy southern tip of South America. And icy.
The journey taken by ships heading from Los Angeles to New York through the canal is about eight thousand miles (or the equivalent of 22 days) shorter than traveling through the Strait of Magellan off Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago in the extreme south of Latin America.
The canal transports ships across Lake Gatun, which rises about 26 meters above sea level, through a series of Water locks. Each ship requires about 200 million liters of fresh water to pass.
Handing over the canal to Panama
During the twentieth century, tensions between the United States and Panama worsened amid Increasing protests against Washington’s control of the canal, especially after the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956, when British and French plans to invade Egypt were halted following the nationalization of the canal after pressure. American.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty with Panamanian military leader Omar Torrijos that gave Panama free control of the canal and guaranteed the permanent neutrality of the waterway.
The treaty entered into force on December 31, 1999. Since then, the canal has been managed by the government’s Panama Canal Authority, and remains a major source of income. For Panama.
Recent Developments
Climate change has contributed to an increase in droughts that have affected water levels in the lakes that feed the canal, forcing the canal authority to Limiting transit operations to achieve a balance with the water needs of the Panamanians.
Trump threatened to reimpose American control over the canal, citing what he said were excessive fees for using the canal and the risk of influence
A subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long operated two ports near the entrances to the canal.
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Trlump said about the canal, “It was granted to Panama and the people of Panama, but it contains terms and conditions.”
He added “If the moral and legal principles of this generous gesture are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in its entirety and expeditiously.”
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