Panama’s top political leaders held a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the country’s return Panama Canal After decades of US control.

But the celebration took place in complete darkness, like US President-elect Donald Trump Constant calls For his country Reassert dominance Over the pivotal waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Molino, a right-leaning leader like Trump, was among the speakers at Tuesday’s keynote ceremony in the capital, Panama City.

He reassured viewers that the Panama Canal would remain in his country’s ownership, rejecting Trump’s statements comments Without mentioning the US President by name.

Molyneux said: “There is no hand involved in the canal other than Panama.” “Rest assured, it will be in our hands forever.”

But Trump has increasingly pushed for US management of the canal as part of his broader expansionist rhetoric.

Earlier this month, Trump teased that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state and reiterated his desire to buy Greenland, an idea he floated during his first term in office.

But as Trump prepares for a second term on January 20, he has alarmed some observers with potential threats to reclaim the Panama Canal from Panama’s control.

On December 21, in a post on his online platform Truth Social, Trump accused Panamanian officials of charging “exorbitant prices” for passage through the canal.

The canal allows cargo ships to pass from the Pacific to the Atlantic without having to sail all the way around South America, a dangerous route that extends thousands of kilometres.

But the canal has seen an increase in traffic in recent decades. It also suffered from severe drought, which impeded travel via its system of locks: water chambers that lift boats up and down when the surrounding ground was uneven.

However, Trump suggested in his posts that Panama was violating the 1977 agreement that set the terms for the canal to be transferred from US hands to Panama’s hands.

“This complete ‘theft’ of our country will stop immediately,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Firstly Of two long letters. in secondHe continued with a warning.

“If the ethical and legal principles of this generous gesture of giving are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full, without question,” he wrote.

“To officials in Panama, please direct accordingly.”

A history of control

Building a canal across the Isthmus of Panama had long been an ambition of the Western colonial powers.

In the late 19th century, for example, the United States made overtures to build a canal in Panama — which was part of Colombia at the time — but the South American country rejected the deal.

When Panama later declared its independence, the United States was quick to support its secession. The United States was the first country to recognize Panama as its own country.

In exchange for American support, Panama granted the North American country the right to build the canal and oversee the surrounding lands. That area became known as the Panama Canal Zone.

But critics considered the agreement a violation of Panama’s sovereignty. Eventually, in 1977, then-US President Jimmy Carter signed two treaties to engineer the return of the canal and surrounding lands.

This transfer took effect on December 31, 1999, exactly 25 years ago.

Matt Carter On Sunday, just shy of the anniversary. Molyneux pushed regards On Tuesday, the late US President held a minute of silence.

In his letter, Molyneux described feeling “a mixture of happiness on this 25th anniversary” and “sadness” over Carter’s death.

Remember the “martyrs”

Tuesday’s celebrations also recognized the protesters who died demanding the canal return to Panamanian control.

Among the honorees were more than 20 participants killed in a student protest on January 9, 1964.

That day, known in Panama as Martyrs’ Day, saw students attempt to raise the Panamanian flag alongside the American flag at a high school in the Canal Zone. Violence erupted, leading to the deaths of demonstrators as well as four American soldiers.

In recent days, Trump has accused Panama violated the terms of the return of the canal, by allowing Chinese soldiers to operate the shipping route.

But Panama officials denied that China had any influence on the canal.

The Associated Press quoted Jorge Luis Quijano, who served as the channel’s director from 2014 to 2019, as saying that Trump has no legal basis for his claims to the channel.

“There is no clause of any kind in the neutrality agreement that would allow the canal to be restored,” Quijano said.