FILE PHOTO: A cargo vessel transits through locks of Agua Clara at the Panama Canal, in Colon, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed support for Panama's government on Monday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday.
"Indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians," Sheinbaum said, speaking during her regular morning press conference.
Sheinbaum's comments came one day after Trump accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage while speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona. After the event, he posted an image on Truth Social of an American flag flying over a narrow body of water, with the comment: "Welcome to the United States Canal!"
Trump's comments were an exceedingly rare example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino swiftly denounced Trump's comments.
"Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging (to Panama)," Mulino said in a statement released on X.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes; Writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)
