WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of State said on Wednesday American government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees.
“The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal,” the department said in a post on X.
It said the agreement will save the U.S. government millions of dollars each years.
The Panama Canal Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday during a trip to Central America. Panama has became a focal point of the Trump administration as President Donald Trump has accused the Central American country of charging excessive rates to use its passage.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question,” Trump said last month.
Mulino has dismissed Trump’s threat that the U.S. retake control of the canal, which it largely built. The U.S. administered territory surrounding the passage for decades.
But the U.S. and Panama signed a pair of accords in 1977 that paved the way for the canal’s return to full Panamanian control. The United States handed it over in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
so the treaty requires neutrality, so China also gets free passage right?
Ladies and gentleman, the rules based order!
The stuff they are doing internationally very much feels like reminding their vassals that they are in fact vassals and to fall in line.
That is exactly what they’re doing. They are pressure testing their network.
Looks like the Panama Canal is denying this 👀
The Panama Canal denied this February 5 that it has made adjustments to its tariffs, after the U.S. State Department reported hours earlier that its vessels would be exempted from payment for using the waterway.
“With absolute responsibility, the Panama Canal Authority, as it has indicated, is willing to establish a dialogue with the relevant officials of the United States regarding the transit of warships from that country,” it was reported through the bulletin disseminated on social networks.
What the hell is going on? 🔥
Gun boat diplomacy america is back baby
USAmericans can’t read Spanish, I guess. State Dept has done the same thing with Petro, another false victory announced and then moved on from.
Typical US diplomacy but this time they didnt even waited for their victims cave in to the threats just announced the result beforehand lol.
lmao Marco Rubio is such a weasel.
This will definitely make Panama a closer ally with the US and keep them from diving deeper into China’s orbid.~
lol that’s kind of pathetic. I assume that basically just means US warships don’t pay a fee. Still extremely scummy to take millions of dollars in income away from a poor country. But it basically seems like saving face.
