By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: Panama pledges to end key canal deal with China, work with US after Rubio visit
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Panama pledges to end key canal deal with China, work with US after Rubio visit
News

Panama pledges to end key canal deal with China, work with US after Rubio visit

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: February 3, 2025 3:50 am
Jimmie Dempsey Published February 3, 2025
Share
SHARE

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

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

Trump panama canal

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. 

 

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]

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

Canadian ministers head to Florida for talks with incoming Trump administration: report

Full 1st round NFL Draft results from a wild night

Mike Lee continues calling for abolition of TSA

Top 10 ‘allergy capitals’ of the US, plus 4 tips to manage symptoms

New Jersey teacher taped 9-year-old boy to desk for nearly an hour, police say

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
Trump pushes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ as solution to four years of Biden failures: ‘Largest tax cut, EVER’
News

Trump pushes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ as solution to four years of Biden failures: ‘Largest tax cut, EVER’

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 3, 2025
Suspicious incendiary device found near Blue Ridge Parkway prompts evacuation
Trump administration open to allowing Iran to continue some uranium enrichment for undetermined length of time
Traffic At U.S. Ports Has Plummeted Compared To Last Year, As New Crisis Brews
Honduran national charged after entering Florida Navy base illegally following crash: DOJ
Trump administration plans to end Afghan relocation programs
DOJ Civil Rights Division sets Title IX deadline for California on transgender athletes in girls’ sports
News

DOJ Civil Rights Division sets Title IX deadline for California on transgender athletes in girls’ sports

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 2, 2025
Seeing farther, striking deeper, this brigade is pushing its drones
Tactical

Seeing farther, striking deeper, this brigade is pushing its drones

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 2, 2025
Tariff fight escalates as Trump appeals second court loss
News

Tariff fight escalates as Trump appeals second court loss

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 2, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?