Politics Trump: USA takes back the Panama Canal
US President Donald Trump announced in his swearing-in speech that the USA would lay claim to the Panama Canal. "We're going to get it back," said Trump in the Capitol in Washington.
20.01.2025, 19:06
SDA
It was folly to give the canal to Panama, said Trump. It was one of the most expensive projects in the USA and 38,000 people died during its construction.
The 82-kilometre-long canal, which connects the Atlantic with the Pacific for shipping, was opened in 1914. In 1999, the USA handed it over to Panama. The transaction was negotiated by the recently deceased Democratic US President Jimmy Carter.
In an earlier statement, Trump did not even rule out military action to take control of the canal. He has long criticized the high fees imposed on US freighters for transit. He also suspects that China is actually exercising control over the waterway.
