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President-elect Trump on Wednesday announced Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as his pick for U.S. ambassador to Panama.
The ad comes as Trump is provoking a row with the US ally on the control of the Panama Canal.
“I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a country that is defrauding us at the Panama Canal far beyond its wildest dreams,” Trump wrote on the Wednesday Truth Social. publication.
Trump last week began pushing the idea that the Panama Canal, which has been under Panamanian control since 1977 under an agreement signed by former President Carter, should return to US hands.
He complained about “exorbitant prices”, said the US was “being ripped off” and alleged that China has undue influence over the canal’s operations, charging a toll for each vehicle that passes through it.
“It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions, you have to treat us fairly, and we haven’t been treated fairly,” Trump said at Turning Point’s “American Fest.”
“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 its entirety, quickly and without any doubt,” he continued.
Panamanian President José Raul Mulino quickly pushed back, reaffirming that Panama would continue to control the canal.
“As president, I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and
its adjacent area belongs to PANAMA, and will continue to be so. Sovereignty and
the independence of our country are not negotiable,” Raul Mulino said in a statement.
“Every Panamanian, here or around the world, takes it to heart, and it is part of our history of struggle and irreversible conquest.”
Trump and his transition team have not defined the legal basis for the channel’s return.
Cabrera must figure out how to navigate a strained relationship with the country amid the president-elect’s position on the waterway. Trump has already set expectations for the incoming ambassador, declaring him a fighter for “America First principles.”
“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin — he will do a FANTASTIC job representing our nation’s interests in Panama,” Trump added.
