Trump talks about the Panama Canal and raises his tone against Hamas

The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, once again declared this Tuesday (7) his intention to regain control of the Panama Canal, citing excessive fees charged to American ships and China’s growing influence over the operation of the passage.

At a press conference held at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump reaffirmed his critical stance regarding the treaty that transferred administration of the canal to Panama in 1999 – made possible by the late former president Jimmy Carter.

“The Panama Canal was built for our Army,” said Trump, highlighting that China would be “basically taking control” of the route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. According to him, Carter’s decision to cede infrastructure to Panama was a “big mistake.”

“The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It is being operated by China. We gave it to Panama, not China, and they abused that gift,” criticized Trump.

Trump suggested that the treaty signed by Carter contributed to his defeat in the 1980 election, pointing to the hostage crisis at the US embassy in Iran as another determining factor. Carter’s recent death, at the age of 100, was also mentioned by the president-elect, who highlighted the importance of reevaluating the canal issue in light of the current geopolitical scenario.

Although Trump has previously suggested that he could try to regain control of the channel after taking office on January 20, he did not detail how this would be done. When asked about the possibility of adopting economic or military measures, he simply replied: “We will have to do something.”

At the same press conference, Trump also raised his tone against the terrorist group Hamas, stating that he expects the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the attack on Israel before his inauguration. If this does not happen, he promised an energetic response.

“If they’re not back when I take office, all hell is going to break loose in the Middle East, and that won’t be good for Hamas, and it won’t be good, frankly, for anyone,” Trump said, adding: “It’s going to be chaos was created.”

The future special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who accompanied Trump in the interview, revealed that negotiations with Hamas are progressing and that he believes they are close to an agreement. Witkoff highlighted that Trump’s reputation was a decisive factor in unlocking dialogue.

“It is the president, his reputation, the things he said, that is driving this negotiation,” he stated, showing hope that by inauguration day there will be “good news” to be announced.

Trump had already threatened strong measures during the election campaign, saying that Hamas should release Israeli and American hostages captured during the war in the Gaza Strip. The administration of Joe Biden, a Democrat at the end of his term, in turn, has played a diplomatic role with Qatar and Egypt to mediate the crisis.

In another curious point of the interview, Trump stated that he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”. According to him, the new designation would be “appropriate” and “beautiful”.

“We are going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America,’ which sounds great and covers a large area of ​​our territory. What a beautiful name,” commented Trump.

The statement generated an immediate reaction from conservative leaders, including Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who committed to presenting a bill in Congress to make the name change official.

The Gulf of Mexico, located between the coasts of the United States, Mexico and Cuba, is an important ocean basin with a history that dates back to the colonial period. Despite the unusual proposal, the idea may reflect Trump’s strategy of reinforcing American sovereignty over natural resources and territories of strategic relevance.

Trump will be sworn in for his second term as US president on January 20.