Wed Jan 08 22:29:45 UTC 2025: ## Panama Canal Head Rejects Trump’s Demand for Preferential Treatment, Citing Chaos and Treaty Violations
**Panama City, Panama** – The head of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, firmly rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s call for preferential treatment for US ships transiting the canal, warning it would create chaos and violate international law. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Morales stated unequivocally that the ACP operates under a strict principle of neutrality, applying the same rules to all vessels regardless of nationality. He emphasized that granting special treatment to the US would breach the neutrality treaty governing the canal and invite similar demands from other nations, leading to operational gridlock.
Morales refuted Trump’s claims of Chinese control over the canal, stating that while Chinese companies operate ports at either end, the canal’s operation remains solely under the ACP’s authority. He confirmed that US Navy vessels currently receive priority passage as a provision of the 1970s handover agreement, but insisted this is the only exception to the canal’s equal treatment policy. He further clarified that US commercial ships are not charged higher fees than any other nation’s vessels.
Trump’s recent comments have included threats of military action to reclaim control of the Panama Canal and the potential use of force against other nations, raising international concerns. These statements follow previous pronouncements on seizing Greenland and employing economic pressure against Canada.
First Piper 