The Panamanian government expressed its concern on Tuesday to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about US President Donald Trump’s stated intention to seize the Panama Canal.
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In a letter sent to Mr. Guterres, Panama’s mission to the UN said that Mr. Trump’s statements during his inauguration ceremony on Monday “are concerning.”
-“We request your good offices to transmit this communication to the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council”, of which Panama has been a member since January 1, underlines the letter, distributed to the press by the Panamanian government.
In his inauguration speech on Monday, Donald Trump reiterated his threat to “take back” control of the Panama Canal, a waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific built by the United States, inaugurated in 1914 and transferred to Panama in 1999 .
“We were very mistreated by this senseless gift that should never have been given. The promise Panama made to us has not been kept,” he said, claiming that American ships were “severely overtaxed.”
“And most importantly, China operates the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we are going to take it back,” he asserted, without specifying how.
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