Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) on Monday referred to as President-elect Trump’s latest threats in regards to the Panama Canal “legitimate.”
“I always take the president seriously, and it’s … [a] legitimate threat to Panama,” Gimenez advised Fox Enterprise’s Ashley Webster on “Varney and Co.” when requested if the U.S. had an opportunity at getting the Panama Canal “back.”
“He wants a better deal, and I think we need to get a better deal from — from Panama,” he added.
On Saturday, Trump expressed frustration by way of Reality Social with the charges charged for using the Panama Canal, asserting that he would stipulate oversight of the canal return to the U.S. when he comes again into the White Home if that’s not modified.
“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S.,” Trump wrote on Reality Social. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.”
The next day, at an occasion for the conservative group Turning Level USA, Trump stated the canal “was given to Panama and to the people of Panama, but it has provisions, you gotta treat us fairly and they haven’t treated us fairly.”
“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,” he added.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino swung again on the president-elect in a video assertion Sunday.
“As president, I want to express clearly that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama, and will continue to do so,” Mulino stated. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”
In his Fox Enterprise look Monday, Gimenez stated Trump “very well could be right, that — that we’re getting ripped off” in terms of the Panama Canal.
