Panama has said that its sovereignty over the Panama Canal is “non-negotiable”. This comes after US president-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military force to take back control over it.
Javier Martinez-Acha, the Panamanian foreign minister, was quoted as saying that “the only hands operating the canal are Panamanian and that is how it is going to stay”. He went on to say the canal’s sovereignty “is not negotiable and is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest”.
The Panama Canal was controlled by the US from the early 20th century until 1999, when it came under Panamanian control, under the terms of a treaty signed in the 1970s.
Image by Andrea Spallanzani from Pixabay