Trump threatens military action: control over Panama channel in focus!

Trump threatens military action: control over Panama channel in focus!

The new US President Donald Trump raises demands on the Panama Canal, which is of great strategic importance for the United States. At a press conference in Mar-A-Lago in Florida, Trump said that he would not rule out a military operation to regain control of this essential trade route. "It could be that you had to do something," said Trump, who described the current passage fees as "highly unfair" and brought back to the game to force Panama to reduce the fees. The declared goal of the Canadian channel is to enable direct trade between the east and west coast of the United States and Asia by connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. This threat is not surprisingly, since Trump had already expressed his interest in the control in December, as today.at reported.

Panama defends itself decided

The Panamaic government promptly reacted to Trump's aggressive attitude. Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Achach emphasized in another press conference that the sovereignty of the Panama Canal for Panama was "not negotiable". He emphasized that the channel remains exclusively in panamic hands and that Trump's allegations are unfounded. Despite Trump's claims that China may have an impact on the channel, this is still completely under the property of Panama and is also managed accordingly. According to Trump's threats, there were already protests in Panama in December, in which demonstrating citizens burned pictures of the designated US president, which shows a tense atmosphere, as well as Zeit.de reported.

Although Trump refers to the supposedly unfair fees, they are customary in the market and are based on the size and weight of the passing ships. This mixture is of great importance, since the Panama Canal is considered one of the most globally important trade routes. The United States had built the channel in the 20th century, but control has been completely handed over to Panama since 1999. This background gives the conflict additional explosiveness, while Trump and his administration make aggressive demands.