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Panamanian President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino has denied claims by US president-elect Donald Trump that there are Chinese soldiers stationed at the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n
In recent days Trump has threatened to take the canal back into US control, accusing Panama of “ripping off” the US by charging high shipping rates.<\/p>\n
In a message posted to his Truth Social account on Wednesday, Trump wrote: “Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal”.<\/p>\n
Mulino called the claim “nonsense” and said that there is “absolutely no Chinese interference”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“There is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal,” he told reporters in Panama City.<\/p>\n
Mulino also rejected the possibility of reducing tolls for US ships or ceding control of the canal, a major shipping channel which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.<\/p>\n
“The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians. There’s no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality,” he said.<\/p>\n
After breaking ties with Taiwan, Panama established diplomatic ties with China in 2017, and Mulino said relations between the two countries were “respectful, well-managed \u2026 in terms of what is in the interest of both countries.”<\/p>\n
His comments came a day after Trump said he would nominate a Florida lawmaker to be his ambassador to Panama.<\/p>\n
Kevin Marino Cabrera, a Republican commissioner in Miami-Dade County, worked for Trump’s 2020 campaign and this year was Florida’s representative to the Republican National Committee.<\/p>\n
Announcing his pick in a Christmas Day post on his Truth Social network, Trump said Cabrera “will do a fantastic job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n