Q24N (EFE) President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, did not rule out on Tuesday resorting to the use of military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and again accused the Central American country of imposing excessive passage fees on American ships that use this strategic route between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
In a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump was asked directly if he ruled out the use of “military or economic coercion” to achieve his goal of regaining control of the Panama Canal and the island of Greenland (Denmark). The president-elect replied: “No.”
“No, I cannot assure you that I will rule out either of those two options, but I can say this: we need them for our economic security,” Trump said.
– Advertisement –
His remarks on Greenland come after the eldest son of the President-elect, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in Greenland on Tuesday morning, amid growing speculation about the possibility that the future US administration might try to acquire the island, an autonomous territory under Danish administration and where the United States has a strategic military base for influence in the North Pole.
Regarding the Panama Canal, during the press conference, Trump argued that China is “basically taking control” of the interoceanic route and warned about the growing influence of the Asian giant in this key infrastructure for international trade.
“The Panama Canal was built by our Army,” said Trump, who again criticized the decision of the late former President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) to transfer control of the canal to Panama during his term.
“The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It is being operated by China. We gave it to Panama, not China, and they have abused that gift. That decision should never have been made,” he declared.
During his presidency, Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, negotiated the treaties that allowed the transfer of the canal to Panama, a process that was completed in 1999.
Trump called this decision a “big mistake” and said that, in his opinion, it was one of the reasons why Carter lost re-election in the 1980 elections, in a context marked by the crisis of the American hostages at the US embassy in Tehran.
– Advertisement –
Trump has previously said that he will seek to regain control of the canal when he takes office on January 20, an idea that the Panamanian government has flatly rejected.
However, the president-elect has not explained how he will get a sovereign nation and ally of Washington to give up control of its territory and its main infrastructure. When asked by journalists about whether he would consider economic or military measures or a renegotiation of the treaties, Trump simply replied: “We will have to do something.”
The remarks come as Jimmy Carter’s body is scheduled to leave his native Georgia for Washington, where his remains will lie in state in the Capitol until a state funeral on Thursday.
“I didn’t want to talk about the Panama Canal because of the funeral, but I’ve been asked about it,” the president-elect told reporters at Mar-a-Lago.
– Advertisement –
Source link
Q24N
