Trump Aide Touts Panama Success Despite Latin American Nation's Pushback

National security adviser Mike Waltz highlightedsome of President Donald Trump's accomplishments on Friday, including a reference to the Panama Canal, which the administration has cited as a national security concern due to alleged Chinese influence.

Newsweek has reached out to Panama's foreign ministry for comment via email on Friday.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused China of controlling the Panama Canal, a crucial global trade route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allegations which Panama and China have both rejected.

Trump has suggested that the U.S. should take back the canal, citing national security and concerns over the fees charged to U.S. ships.

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino hasappeared frustrated with the issue, calling allegations of Chinese influence over the canal "lies" and a "fascination"during a Thursday press briefing. Earlier this month, he also disagreed with the Trump administration on a different canal matter, denying U.S. claims that American ships were granted free passage through the waterway.

What To Know

Waltz addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday morning and touted several Trump administration defense and security achievements, from Ukraine-Russia peace talks to the Panama Canal.

"We just had Panama say, 'You know what? We're done with Belt and Road [initiative]; we're done allowing China to infiltrate critical strategic assets like the Panama Canal," he said on stage.

Earlier this month, Panama handed China a 90-day notice of withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a trillion-dollar program that has seen the participation of 150 countries since its launch in 2013. Mulino stressed the decision was Panama's and made before U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's February visit and therefore was not influenced by the Trump administration's commentary criticizing the infrastructure program.

The move was applauded by Rubio, who called it "a great step forward."

The Trump administration has repeatedly alleged that China has influence over the canal but has not provided evidence of Beijing's control of the waterway. The canal is of global importance as around 5 percent of global trade passes through it annually.

Waltz's comments at the political convening come the day after Mulino said he directed the country's foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, not to discuss the U.S. government allegations with U.S. Southern Command Commander Admiral Alvin Holsey, who visited the country several weeks after Rubio.

Ahead of Holsey's visit, the U.S. embassy in Panama said one of the trip's agenda items would be discussing "efforts to protect the canal area from Chinese Communist Party influence & control," according to the Associated Press.

During a Thursday press conference, Mulino said, "We are not going to speak of lies. That would be to expand on the fascination created over the issue of China in Panama and the control of the Communist Party of the canal. For the love of God."

What People Are Saying

Chinese Embassy in Panama wrote in a February 19 statement, that the country has "never participated in the management nor operation of the Panama Canal, not has it intervened in the affairs of the Canal. The supposed argument of 'China controls the Canal' is nothing more than a pure lie."

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post in Spanish on Thursday morning: "The bilateral agenda with the US is important and relevant. However, for Panama, it does not involve analyzing situations that are not true. We will not talk about what is not a reality but rather about those issues that interest both countries."

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a February 2 statement: "Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal. Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that, absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty."

What Happens Next?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is expected to visit Panama in April.