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Panama Canal to remain under Panama’s control — president

According to Jose Raul Mulino,the canal was not a 'concession to anyone'

MEXICO, January 20. /TASS/. Control over the Panama Canal will remain in the hands of the Central American country despite US leader Donald Trump’s stated ambition to take it back, Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said.

"On behalf of the Republic of Panama and its people, I must completely reject the words set forth by President Donald Trump in his inauguration speech regarding Panama and its canal. I repeat: <...> The canal belongs and will continue to belong to Panama, its administration will continue to be under Panamanian control in accordance with the permanent neutrality," he said in a statement posted to X.

"There is no country in the world that interferes in the management of the canal," the Panamanian president went on to say.

The canal was not a "concession to anyone," according to the official.

"It was the result of a generations of struggle that culminated in the Torrijos-Carter treaties of 1999, and from then until now, for 25 years, we have been managing and expanding it nonstop, responsibly serving the world and global trade, including the United States," he said.

According to Mulino, he intends to defend the right to the canal in accordance with international law. He insisted that dialogues is the best way to resolve issues of contention without compromising "Panama's sovereignty and its full right to the canal."

Trump reiterated his intention to "take back" the canal as he was making an inauguration speech earlier on Monday. He argued that giving control over the shipping link to Panama was a "foolish gift that should have never been made." The US president also asserted that China is operating the canal.

Put into operation in 1914, the Panama Canal was built and by the US, which controlled the link for decades afterward. In 1977, the Torrijos-Carter treaties spelled out a step-by-step transfer of the canal to Panama, a process that wrapped up in 1999. The deal stipulated a neutrality of the canal and its availability for global trade. It currently remains a critical shipping route for the global economy.

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