U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will "not allow foreign influence" in America as part of his new doctrine, "which includes the Panama Canal," which he called his "favorite canal" in the presence of Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.
"We will not allow hostile foreign influence to establish itself in this hemisphere, that includes the Panama Canal, of which we have spoken," Trump stated. "I'm not going to learn your damn language," he added to Mulino.
Trump also commented on the history of the canal, which was built by the U.S. in the early 20th century and operated for over eight decades until its handover to Panama on December 31, 1999. "They got it for one dollar from one of our brilliant presidents (Jimmy Carter in 1977). I can't sleep over that deal," he said.
A key development for Trump was a court ruling on February 23 that nullified a concession under which two of the five ports around the canal were operated by a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison. Trump had previously cited the "malign influence" of China in the region.
Relations between Trump and Mulino have been tense since the early months of Trump's term in 2025, when he threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal due to alleged Chinese influence. The Panamanian government rejected these claims and demanded that Washington not involve their country in its geopolitical struggle with Beijing.
