What would Donald Trump gain from seizing the Panama Canal?
The president-elect claims the crossing is controlled by China and rips off American consumers
IN 1978 PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER said that returning control of the Panama Canal to the government of Panama would open global trade opportunities, reduce anti-American feeling in Latin America and boost his country’s prestige. It was an act, he said in a televised speech, “of a people who are still confident, still creative, still great.” Before he died on December 29th 2024, Carter may have heard Donald Trump strike a different tone towards his country’s ally. Ceding control of the canal was a “terrible thing to do”. Now Panama is “ripping off” American consumers with exorbitant transit fees, the incoming president told supporters in Arizona. Two weeks later he said that “Chinese soldiers” are operating the waterway and that he would not rule out taking control of it by force. Why might Mr Trump want to seize the Panama Canal?
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