“Our canal is not negotiable”: Panama once again rejects Donald Trump’s ambitions

“The president, José Raúl Mulino, has already declared that the sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Javier Martinez-Acha, adding that the canal was “an irreversible conquest”.

Donald Trump, who arrives at the White House on January 20, repeated on Tuesday his ambitions to annex the Panama Canal and Greenland, by force if necessary, during a disjointed and provocative press conference.

An artery of world trade

Initially, this meeting with the press from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was supposed to concern an Emirati investment to build new data centers in the United States. But the future American president quickly moved away from this question to address a wide range of subjects for more than an hour.

The president-elect has already stated on several occasions that he wants to take over the Panama Canal, built by the United States and inaugurated in 1914, if the price of tolls for American ships is not reduced. He further criticized the agreement made in 1977 by then-President Jimmy Carter, which resulted in the transfer of control of the canal to Panama in 1999.

“They don’t treat us fairly. They charge our ships more than other countries’ ships,” said Donald Trump, adding: “They’re making fun of us because they think we’re stupid. But we’re not stupid anymore.”

“Greenland for the Greenlanders”

Concerning Greenland, just before Christmas, the president-elect also judged that control of Greenland was “an absolute necessity” for “national security and freedom throughout the world”. On Tuesday, he urged Denmark to “give up” on this autonomous territory.

His son, Donald Trump Jr, was in Greenland at the time on a private visit as a “tourist”. In response, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen replied: “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” insisted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on television, upon the arrival of Donald Trump Jr at Nuuk airport.

Donald Trump also threatened to use “economic force” against Canada, this ally “subsidized” by the United States for its protection, according to him. Shortly after the announcement of the resignation on Monday of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump estimated that Canada should “merge” with the United States, a remark that annoys the northern neighbor.

The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, replied that Canada would “never back down from threats”, while Justin Trudeau added: “Never, ever, will Canada be part of the United States”. Which did not prevent Donald Trump from posting a map of the United States which includes Canada a few hours later on his Truth Social network.

The Gulf of Mexico replaced by the “Gulf of America”

Another shocking announcement, a priori more symbolic: Donald Trump affirmed that upon his return to the White House on January 20, the United States would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America”. Before castigating Mexico, which “must stop letting millions of people flow into our country”, in reference to the crossing of the southern border by thousands of illegal migrants.