PANAMA CITY/COPENHAGEN: Leaders of Panama and Greenland on Monday flat-out rejected president-elect Donald Trump’s renewed interest to take over the Panama Canal and the island nation.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino dismissed recent threats made by US president-elect to retake control of the canal over complaints of “unfair” treatment of American ships.

“Every square metre of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama,” Mulino said in a video posted to X.

Responding to comments made by the US president-elect regarding the “ownership and control” of the vast Arctic island that has been part of Denmark for over 600 years, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said that the island is not for sale.

Mexican president says the canal belongs to Panamanians

“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede said in a written comment.

Trump on Sunday announced that he had picked Ken Howery, a former envoy to Sweden, as his ambassador to Copenhagen, and commented on the status of Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark and host to a large US Air Force base.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Danish government must state in clear terms that control over Greenland is not up for discussion or negotiation, member of parliament Rasmus Jarlov of the opposition Conservative Party said on social media platform X.

“To the extent that US activities aim to take control of Danish territory, it must be prohibited and countered. Then they can’t be there at all,” said Jarlov, who heads parliament’s defence committee.

Mulino’s public comments, though never mentioning Trump by name, come a day after the president-elect complained about the canal on his Truth Social platform.

“Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous,” he said.

Trump also complained of China’s growing influence around the canal, a worrying trend for American interests as US businesses depend on the channel to move goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “It was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed support for Panama’s government on Monday. “Indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians,” Sheinbaum said, speaking during her regular morning press conference.

Sheinbaum’s comments also came one day after Trump accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage while speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona. Trump said that if Panama could not ensure “the secure, efficient and reliable operation” of the channel, “then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.” Mulino rejected Trump’s claims in his video message, though he also said he hopes to have “a good and respectful relationship” with the incoming administration.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024