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By Gram Slattery
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive tolls for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama does not manage the canal in an acceptable manner, he will seek the hand of a US friend. it’s finished.
In an evening post on Public Truth, Trump also warned that he would not allow the channel to fall into the “wrong hands,” and appeared to warn of possible Chinese influence in the passage. , writing the channel should not be controlled by China.
The post was a very rare example of an American leader saying he would push an independent country to cede territory. It also highlights the expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose language when dealing with allies.
The United States has mainly built the canal and administrative area around the route for decades. But the US government gave control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
“The fees paid by Panama are deplorable, especially given the extraordinary generosity given to Panama by the US,” Trump wrote in his Public Truth post.
“It was not given for the sake of others, but only as an expression of our cooperation with Panama. If the principles, moral and legal, of this wonderful act of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full, and without doubt.
Panama’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
