Why has Trump made the Panama canal a top priority? – podcast | Panama canal




“China is operating the Panama canal and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”

Donald Trump’s claim in his inauguration speech that Panama had “broken its promises” to the US was alarming for many Panamanians. Washington relinquished control of the canal in 1977, so why is Trump pressing the issue now?

“For many Panamanians, this is a settled understanding that they administrate the canal, that they’ve been running it for decades,” the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, Andrew Roth, tells Hannah Moore.

“For Donald Trump to come out and make basically two claims – first of all, that the canal is mismanaged, and second of all, that China is running the canal - it’s almost like an insult to the national pride of many Panamanians.”

Andrew explains the political resonance of the issue for older voters in the US, where the claims about Chinese influence have come from, and why an old grudge involving one of Trump’s hotels might also be part of his motivation.

Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod

Marco Rubio at the Miraflores locks on the Panama canal
Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/Reuters


Source link

Posted: 2025-02-05 04:10:26

Sweet Daddy Siki, American Canadian wrestling star who pushed limits of the sport, dies at 91
 



... Read More

Lewis Hamilton involved in awkward gaffe as F1 left embarrassed on first day of testing | F1 | Sport
 



... Read More

Fortnite down: Server downtime for Chapter 6, Season - here's when Fortnite is back online | Gaming | Entertainment
 



... Read More

‘Dead white person’s clothes’ mount up as Ghana’s Kantamanto market struggles to rebuild after fire | Global development
 



... Read More

European leaders plot responses to potential Trump tariffs
 



... Read More

UK financial watchdog delays Shein listing amid supply chain scrutiny | Shein
 



... Read More

Canadian man linked to ex-Olympian's crime ring extradited to U.S. from Mexico
 



... Read More

How to ripen avocados fast with chef’s game-changing hack so they taste perfect
 



... Read More