Panama President Rejects Lowering Fees Due To Trump's Threats: 'The Answer Is No'

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino rejected on Thursday the possibility of lowering the Panama Canal tolls due to his incoming counterpart Donald Trump's threats of taking over the passage.

"No, the answer is no. Tolls are not set at the whim of the (Panamanian) president and the administrator" but through a "public and open process," Mulino said. He went on to recall that one country managed to prevent a price increase in one of those hearings "and everybody was satisfied" with the outcome.

The issue has been at the forefront of the public conversation for the past week since Trump criticized the fact that the U.S. gave up the canal. "We're being ripped off at the Panama Canal. 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 the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question," Trump said at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Arizona.

The United States built the Panama Canal in the early 1900s to make it easier for commercial and military ships to travel between its coasts. On Dec. 31, 1999, the U.S. handed control of the canal to Panama under a treaty signed in 1977 by then-President Jimmy Carter. The central American nation voted in favor of a $5.2 billion expansion of the canal, which was completed in 2016.

The canal relies on reservoirs to run its locks, but Central American droughts in 2023 immensely reduced water levels. This led to fewer daily crossings and higher fees for ships reserving a slot.

The threat has caused protests in Panama, with some even burning the American flag as well as an image of Trump. The demonstrators, who collected outside of the U.S. embassy in Panama, chanted anti-Trump slogans in which they vowed not to give up their territory.

The slogans included sayings such as "Trump, animal, leave the canal alone", "Get out invading gringo" and even "Donald Trump, public enemy of Panama" which was written onto some posters and materials at the protest, as reported by AFP.

In one video shared to social media, an American flag was burned along with a photo of Trump with the phrase "F*** TRUMP!"