NEW YORK, January 20. /TASS/. A potential US military takeover of the Panama Canal will run counter to international laws, sparking outrage across Latin America and leading to a US occupation of Panama, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing retired US General Barry McCaffrey.
According to him, US President-elect Donald Trump’s calls to restore US control of the Panama Canal "sound like it’s the 1850s." "If you’re a foreign illegitimate power, how would we operate the canal without Panamanians?" McCaffrey added.
Trump said earlier that Washington needed to retain control over the Panama Canal. He criticized the Panama Canal passage tariffs, stressing that the 1999 handover of control over the facility had been "a token of cooperation" rather than a concession to other countries. Trump alleged that the waterway was controlled by China. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino stated that sovereignty over the canal and the country’s independence were non-negotiable.
The Panama Canal, inaugurated in 1914, was constructed and initially operated by the United States. The 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties established a phased handover of the canal to Panama, which concluded in 1999. These agreements ensured the canal’s neutrality and continued availability for global commerce. Today, the canal remains a vital artery for international trade and a strategic asset of considerable importance to the United States.