QCOSTARICA — The president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, described on Wednesday as “very unlikely” a US invasion to recover the Panama Canal and advocated dialogue between the two countries to resolve their differences.
“Deep down in my heart I believe that a military invasion is very unlikely, it would be reprehensible, it would violate a lot of international laws and principles,” Chaves said at his weekly press conference.
Last Monday, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, said in his inauguration speech that “China is operating the Panama Canal. But we did not give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we are going to get it back,” statements that he has repeated since December.
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Chaves did not express a position in favor of one country or the other, as he commented that “it is too early to tie ourselves to a position” and that “there are arguments on both sides.”
“What seems to be taking shape is a bilateral negotiation on the influence of China in the administration of the Canal, where there is a contract for 27 years between a Chinese company and Panama that, according to the new United States Administration, threatens the interests of the United States in the Canal,” said Chaves.
Chaves commented that what he believes is taking shape in the bilateral conversations is “probably about the rates that the United States military ships and the American flag ships will pay.”
“I hope that this conversation ends in a satisfactory agreement for the parties. All the peoples of the world want peace and the sovereignty of nations. Costa Rica respectfully suggests that they sit down to talk,” he said.
The Panamanian government has repeatedly stressed that the Canal is and will remain Panamanian and denied the presence of “any nation in the world that interferes” with the administration of the Interoceanic Corridor, which has been in Panamanian hands since 1999.
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The Panama Canal, an 82-kilometer passage through which approximately 3% of world trade passes, was built by the United States, which opened it in 1914 and administered it until it was transferred to the Panamanian State on December 31, 1999.
The canal was transferred to Panama 25 years ago thanks to the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, signed on September 7, 1977 in Washington by the Panamanian leader, Omar Torrijos (1929-1981), and the American president, Jimmy Carter (1924-2024)
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