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Tag: Panama

Panama eliminates charge fees for U.S. government vessels

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a new deal with the government of Panama that will eliminate charge fees for U.S. government vessels.

“The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal,” the State Department wrote in an X post Wednesday night.

The new agreement will save the U.S. government millions of dollars a year, officials noted.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, waves after being welcomed by Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, left, upon his arrival at the presidential palace in Panama City, on Sunday, Feb. 2. Panama is Rubio’s first trip abroad as Secretary of State. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON PANAMA CANAL POSES ‘ACUTE RISKS TO US NATIONAL SECURITY,’ SEN CRUZ WARNS

Panama President José Raúl Mulino promised on Sunday to end a key development deal with China after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

During his visit, former Florida Senator Rubio wrote in a post on X that “the United States cannot, and will not, allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue with its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area.”

President Donald Trump, who has openly criticized the six-figure premiums imposed on U.S. ships traveling through, has suggested repurchasing the canal.

Two cargo ships enter the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on Jan. 22. (Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)

‘TAKING IT BACK’: INTERNAL HOUSE GOP MEMO OUTLINES CASE FOR TRUMP TO Y PANAMA CANAL

It was built over decades by the U.S., but was later handed over to Panama during the Carter administration.

A newly introduced bill called the “Panama Canal Repurchase Act” would give Trump and Rubio the authority to negotiate with Panama to repurchase the canal.

FILE – President Jimmy Carter speaks next to his wife Rosalynn upon arrival to Panama City to sign the Panama Canal Treaty, June 16, 1978. (AP Photo)

HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE BILL TO REPURCHASE PANAMA CANAL AFTER TRUMP RAISES CONCERNS OF CHINESE CONTROL

More than 70 percent of all vessels traveling through the canal are inbound or outbound to U.S. ports, according to the State Department. It is also a key transit point for U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Defense vessels.

Ships would need to travel 8,000 additional miles around South America to avoid using the pathway.

TOPSHOT – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane en route to El Salvador at Panama Pacifico International Airport in Panama City on February 3, 2025. Rubio is in Panama on a two-day official visit. (MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/Pool AP/AFP via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital requested comment from the State Department, but did not immediately receive a response as of Wednesday night.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.

February 6, 2025
Panama agrees to end canal deal with China after Rubio visit

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Panama’s president vowed Sunday to end a key development deal with China after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and after complaints from President Donald Trump that the Latin American country had ceded control over its critical shipping canal to Beijing.

José Raúl Mulino, Panama’s president, said his nation’s sovereignty over the 51-mile waterway, which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, will remain unchanged. But he said he would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road global development initiative and that Panama would instead look to work more closely with the U.S.

“I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible U.S. investments in Panama,” Mulino told reporters after meeting with Rubio on his first international trip since being confirmed.

Rubio, who was a senator representing Florida before Trump tapped him to be America’s top diplomat, said his team is ready to push the U.S. agenda.

‘TAKING IT BACK’: INTERNAL HOUSE GOP MEMO OUTLINES CASE FOR TRUMP TO Y PANAMA CANAL

“Had the pleasure of meeting the incredible @USEmbPAN team during my first embassy meet and greet in my new role as Secretary of State!” Rubio wrote in a post on X. “Thankful for their dedication and ongoing efforts to promoting President Trump’s vision of an America First foreign policy.”

During his visit, Rubio wrote in a post on X that “the United States cannot, and will not, allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue with its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area.”

Trump has complained that China exerts control over the canal and charges U.S. ships six-figure premiums to cross Panama’s isthmus. The canal was built over several decades by the U.S. and completed in 1914 but handed over to Panama during the Carter administration.

Trump has made regaining ownership of the Panama Canal a priority in his administration. House Republicans introduced a bill for the United States to repurchase the Panama Canal after Trump raised concerns that the critical waterway is under Chinese control.

The bill, named the Panama Canal Repurchase Act, was introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., a member of the Select Committee on China and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“President Trump is right to consider repurchasing the Panama Canal,” Johnson said in a statement. “China’s interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern. America must project strength abroad – owning and operating the Panama Canal might be an important step towards a stronger America and a more secure globe.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE BILL TO REPURCHASE PANAMA CANAL AFTER TRUMP RAISES CONCERNS OF CHINESE CONTROL

Panama announced it won’t renew the Belt and Road Initiative with China after Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the country. (Reuters)

If it becomes law, the bill would give the president authority to act in coordination with the secretary of state to “initiate and conduct negotiations with appropriate counterparts of the Government of the Republic of Panama to reacquire the Panama Canal.”

CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON PANAMA CANAL POSES ‘ACUTE RISKS TO US NATIONAL SECURITY,’ SEN CRUZ WARNS

President Donald Trump has expressed concern that the Panama Canal is being controlled by China. (Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of State estimates around 72% of all vessels that travel through the Panama Canal are coming from or going to a U.S. port.

Noting the canal’s strategic importance to the United States, Johnson’s office also noted how the waterway is a key transit point for U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Defense vessels.

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Without access to the canal, ships would be forced to travel 8,000 additional miles around South America.

“More than 10,000 ships use the Panama Canal each year, generating billions of dollars of tolls which would economically benefit America,” Johnson’s office said.

While the canal and China’s role in the region topped the agenda, Rubio had other items to raise.

“We also discussed efforts to end the hemisphere’s mass migration crisis and ensure fair competition for U.S. firms,” Rubio added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Stepheny Price is writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]

February 3, 2025
Rubio heads to Panama, Latin America to pursue Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ agenda

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves for his first overseas trip as the nation’s top diplomat on Saturday. Rubio’s first stop on the six-day visit is Panama as he sets out on pursuing President Donald Trump’s geopolitical agenda.

Trump used his inaugural address to proclaim his intent to “take back” the Panama Canal, and in a call with reporters on Friday, Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone said Rubio’s chief purpose of the trip would be in re-establishing a “Golden Age” for America.

“This trip signifies… that era of American greatness and the Golden Age,” he said, adding that “the 21st century will also be an American century.”

Former President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a rally at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition in Miami on Nov. 6, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MARCO RUBIO LAYS OUT AMERICA FIRST AGENDA IN NEW OP-ED, SAYS DAYS OF NEGLECTING US ‘END NOW’

Claver-Carone pointed out that Rubio’s trip to Latin America is the first time a secretary of state has traveled to the region as their first official visit abroad in over 100 years.

“Last time that happened, I believe, was in 1912, when Philander Chase Knox went to Panama… to oversee the conclusion of the Panama Canal’s construction and operations,” he told reporters. “What a great message to harken back to that Golden Age of the Americas, as President Trump himself has mentioned.”

Rubio is scheduled to meet with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.

The pair are expected to discuss migration, combating drug trafficking and China’s presence in the Panama Canal, which Rubio and Trump have argued has become overrun by Chinese companies operating at either end of the crucial waterway.

The Trump administration has argued that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tight grip over all Chinese companies means that, in extension, the CCP is operating out of the canal and could, in theory, close it to U.S. trade if it chose to — posing a significant security threat.

New Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino waves before giving a speech at his swearing-in ceremony at the Atlapa Convention Centre in Panama City on July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

TRUMP OFFICIAL TRAVELS TO VENEZUELA TO NEGOTIATE DEAL FOR DEPORTING TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS

Mulino has repeatedly denied that Chinese companies have any influence over the operations of the Panama Canal, and on Thursday said he would not be negotiating ownership of the canal with Rubio.

“It’s impossible, I can’t negotiate,” Mulino said during a Thursday press conference when asked about negotiating control of the canal, The Associated Press reported. “That is done. The canal belongs to Panama.”

Mulino apparently claimed confusion over control of the canal was attributed to his predecessor, who severed ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China in 2017, eventually allowing a Hong Kong consortium to operate ports at both ends of the canal.

Panama maintains that it controls the canal.

The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas, left, and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)

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Claver-Carone argued that Chinese companies control “everything from force and logistics to telecommunications, infrastructure, and otherwise,” which he said is not only a security threat to U.S. interests in the canal, but to the national security of Panama and the Western Hemisphere.

Rubio is also slated to visit El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, where he will meet with the presidents of each nation before returning to the U.S. on Thursday.

Addressing Chinese influence in these countries, along with gang violence, migration and drug trafficking, will also be top of Rubio’s agenda.

February 1, 2025
Trump Panama Canal plans get boost from Republicans leaders: Internal House memo

EXCLUSIVE: House Republican leadership is encouraging lawmakers to back up President Donald Trump’s desire to return the Panama Canal to U.S. ownership, a new memo suggests.

The House GOP Policy Committee, led by Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the No. 5 House Republican leader, sent the document to legislative directors across the conference on Wednesday.

The two-page memo, simply titled “Panama Canal,” begins by highlighting Trump’s past comments about China’s influence over the Panama Canal and his goal of “taking it back.”

It also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be visiting Panama on his first trip as Trump’s top diplomat.

MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE

Split image of Trump and the Panama Canal (Jim WATSON/AFP, left, ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP, right.)

The next section details the history of the U.S. and the Panama Canal: “The Panama Canal was built by the U.S. between 1904 and 1914. The canal was leased to the U.S. for nearly 75 years under the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal.”

It also points out that it was under the late former President Jimmy Carter that Panama was given control of the canal, via treaties later criticized by Trump.

The treaties with Carter “gave the U.S. the permanent explicit right to intervene to keep the canal open in the event of any threat that may interfere with the canal’s continued neutral service to ships from all nations,” the memo said before laying out arguments for why Republicans believe Panama has since violated its end of the deal.

“About 5% of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, saving 6,835 miles off a journey that would otherwise require a long and dangerous trip skirting the southern tip of South America,” the memo states. “The United States is Panama’s largest provider of foreign direct investment—$3.8 billion annually.”

RUSSIA SOUNDS OFF ON TRUMP’S THREAT TO RETAKE THE PANAMA CANAL

House GOP Policy Chair Kevin Hern is the No. 5 House Republican leader. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, “Chinese companies now operate ports at both ends of the canal. Chinese construction companies in 2018 funded a $1.4 billion bridge project spanning the canal,” it reads.

“The treaties require that transit fees be ‘just, reasonable, equitable, and consistent with international law,”’ and that Panama maintain the canal’s permanent neutrality,” the memo said. “The high fees charged by Panama as well as Panama’s openness to investment by the Chinese Communist Party in the canal zone are likely both in breach of the terms of the treaties.”

Congress has already granted the president wide authority over international commerce in the event of an emergency, but GOP lawmakers have signaled they want to ease those guardrails further.

Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., introduced a bill earlier this month to let Trump re-purchase the Panama Canal for the U.S.

A short while later, freshman Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., unveiled legislation to widen Trump’s non-emergency tariff power.

And Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has a bill to authorize Trump to enter into negotiations to buy Greenland.

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The memo from Hern’s policy committee is notable, however, as an apparent subtle marching order to the House GOP conference to continue down that path.

It could also likely embolden Republican lawmakers to find legislative avenues to further back up Trump’s push to purchase the canal, particularly given the Panamanian government’s opposition to the U.S. president’s plan.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

January 30, 2025
China influence on Panama Canal is national security risk: Sen. Cruz

China’s influence on the Panama Canal poses “acute risks to U.S. national security,” Sen. Ted Cruz is warning Tuesday, alleging the Chinese Communist Party has taken a “militaristic interest” in the vital global shipping passage.

The Texas Republican told lawmakers during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing that President Donald Trump recently has highlighted two key issues — “the danger of China exploiting or blocking passage through the canal” and “the exorbitant costs for transit.”

“Chinese companies are right now building a bridge across the canal at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade. And Chinese companies control container ports at either end. The partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning and the ports give China ready observation posts to time that action,” said Cruz, who is the chairman of the committee.

“This situation I believe poses acute risks to U.S. national security,” he added.

MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is warning lawmakers Tuesday about China’s influence on the Panama Canal. (AP/Ben Curtis/Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)

“Meanwhile, the high fees for canal transit disproportionately affect Americans because U.S. cargo accounts for nearly three quarters for canal transits. U.S. Navy vessels pay additional fees that apply only to warships. Canal profits regularly exceed $3 billion dollars,” Cruz continued. “This money comes from both American taxpayers and consumers in the form of higher costs for goods.”

Cruz’s comments come as newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.

Trump said during his inauguration speech last week that “China is operating the Panama Canal” and “we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”

Panama is denying the Chinese influence, with President José Raúl Mulino saying that “There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,” according to the Associated Press.

RUSSIA SOUNDS OFF ON TRUMP’S THREAT TO RETAKE THE PANAMA CANAL

President Donald Trump said during his second inauguration speech that “China is operating the Panama Canal.” (Fox News)

However, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Louis Sola testified Tuesday that “Since 2015, Chinese companies have increased their presence and influence throughout Panama.

“Panama became a member of the Belt and Road Initiative and ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Chinese companies have been able to pursue billions of dollars and development contracts in Panama, many of which were projects directly on or adjacent to the Panama Canal,” he told lawmakers. “Many were no bid contracts, labor laws were waived, and the Panama and Panamanian people are still waiting to see how they’ve been benefited.

“It is all more concerning that many of these companies are state-owned and in some cases even designated as linked to the People’s Liberation Army,” Sola added. “We must address the significant growing presence and influence of China throughout the Americas and in Panama specifically.”

Cruz also said during the hearing that the Chinese Communist Party has taken a “militaristic interest in the canal” and that “Panama has emerged as a bad actor.”

“Panama has for years flagged dozens of vessels in the Iranian ghost fleet, which brought Iran tens of billions of dollars in oil profits to fund terror across the world,” Cruz said.

Two cargo ships enter the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on Jan. 22. (Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)

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“We cannot turn a blind eye if Panama exploits an asset of vital commercial and military importance, and we cannot stay idle while China is on the march in our hemisphere,” he concluded.

Fox News’ Nick Kalman and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

January 28, 2025
Marco Rubio heading to Panama for first trip as secretary of state

Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.

Though details are still being worked out, the visit could come as early as next week.

The planned trip comes after repeated vows by President Donald Trump – who returned to the White House on Monday – to take back the Panama Canal.

Trump mentioned the Panama Canal again during his inaugural address on Monday, claiming that it was now in the hands of China and vowing to take it back.

MARCO RUBIO CLASHES WITH NBC ‘TODAY’ HOST WHEN PRESSED ON TRUMP’S JAN. 6 PARDONS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” Trump said.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded forcefully to Trump’s comments on Wednesday saying, “we reject in its entirety everything that Mr. Trump has said. First, because it is false and second, because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”

The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas (L) and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on December 28, 2024. (ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. built the canal in the early 1900s under then President Theodore Roosevelt as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by then President Jimmy Carter.

TRUMP WARNS FEMA FACES A RECKONING AFTER BIDEN ADMIN: ‘NOT DONE THEIR JOB’

News of Rubio’s trip was first reported by Politico and could include other Central American countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, where Rubio is expected to address a top priority of curbing mass migration that he outlined earlier this week.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sworn by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, as his wife, Jeanette Rubio, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce tells Fox News that “Secretary Rubio is prioritizing the region because it’s where we live,” adding “we won’t continue to ignore the region as other administrations have.”

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She added: “Engaging with our neighbors is a vital element in addressing migration, supply chains, and economic growth, which are key to Secretary Rubio’s pursuit of foreign policy focused on making America strong, prosperous, and safe.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.

January 23, 2025
Russia sounds off on Trump’s threat to retake the Panama Canal

Russia’s foreign ministry has called on President Donald Trump to reaffirm the current international agreement surrounding the Panama Canal and to leave it in control of the nation of Panama.

Alexander Shchetinin, the director of Russia’s foreign ministry’s Latin American department, told Russian news outlet TASS that he expects Trump “will respect the current international legal regime” of the canal as laid out in two 1977 treaties between the U.S. and Panama.

The agreement relinquished American control over the canal by the year 2000 and guaranteed its neutrality.

President Donald Trump, left, and the Danish cargo ship Lars Maersk sails through the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024, right. (Jim WATSON / AFP, left, ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP, right.)

TRUMP: CARTER WAS A ‘VERY FINE’ PERSON BUT PANAMA CANAL MOVES WERE ‘A BIG MISTAKE’

Trump has railed against Panama since his sweeping election win in November, accusing the Central American country of letting China dominate the critical maritime trade route and leaving U.S. ships getting “ripped off” in the process.

During his inaugural speech on Monday, President Trump doubled down on his grievances and declared that the U.S. would be “taking it back.”

“We expect that during the expected discussions between the leadership of Panama and President Trump on issues of control over the Panama Canal, which certainly falls within the sphere of their bilateral relations, the parties will respect the current international legal regime of this key waterway,” Shchetinin said.

He said that 40 countries also joined a protocol agreement, of which Russia is one, to recognize the canal’s neutrality and to keep it “safe and open.”

“[The U.S. and Panama] must protect the canal from any threat to the neutrality regime,” Shchetinin said. “At the same time, a reservation was made that the said right of the United States to defend the Panama Canal does not mean and should not be interpreted as the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Panama, and any actions by the American side will never be directed against the territorial integrity or political independence of Panama.”

Trump gives his second presidential inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2024.

TRUMP OUTLINES PLANS ON BORDER, PANAMA CANAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE

Trump has been critical of the agreement and said previously it was a “big mistake” on Carter’s part.

“The United States… spent more money than was ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal,” Trump said at his inaugural address on Monday.

“We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should never have been made. And Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated.”

“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”

The canal’s administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, said this month that China is not in control of the canal and that all nations are treated equally under a neutrality treaty.

The 51-mile maritime trade route uses a series of locks and reservoirs to cut through the middle of Panama and connect the Atlantic and Pacific. The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts.

The canal spares ships having to sail around Cape Horn at South America’s southern tip, saving it a roughly 7,000-mile journey.

The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas, left, and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024. (ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP via Getty Images)

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Panama President José Raúl Mulino issued a statement rejecting Trump’s comments and said, “The Canal is and will continue to be Panama’s and its administration will continue to be under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality.”

“There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,” he added, taking issue with Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. “gave” the canal to Panama.

“Dialogue is always the way to clarify the points mentioned without undermining our right, total sovereignty and ownership of our Canal,” Mulino said.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

January 23, 2025