Fake quote from Panama's president on canal row circulates online

US President-elect Donald Trump warned he might seek control of the Panama Canal unless the Central American nation lowered transit fees for American ships moving through the waterway. Panama's government rejected Trump's ultimatum, but a quote circulating online from President José Raúl Mulino threatening to double the price for US naval ships to use the canal is false; the claim stems from a satirical post, and Panama has made no official comments to that effect.

"BREAKING: Panama Doubles Fees For U.S. Warships Transiting Canal," says a December 22, 2024 X post with tens of thousands of interactions. "'In our country, we have an 'a-hole tax' that kicks in automatically whenever anyone with orange skin threatens us,' said President José Raúl Mulino Quintero. 'When they sincerely apologize, the rate goes back to normal.'"

The account claims to post satirical content, but the quote it shared rapidly spread without any mention of satire on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok and elsewhere on X.

Trump kicked off the spat with Panama on December 21, using his Truth Social account to say the fees charged to US ships were a "rip-off" and warning that China was gaining undue influence over the canal.

Mulino dismissed Trump's statements without mentioning the incoming US president's name. He also said neither China nor any other foreign power had any control over the canal and that any claims otherwise "misrepresents this reality."

"Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama," Mulino said in a video posted on X in Spanish (archived here). He also released an English version of the statement using the same language without mentioning doubling transport fees (archived here).

Mulino has made several other public statements about the canal since Trump's post, including at a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the handover of the interoceanic canal to Panama, where he said the channel had been given to its "rightful" owner.

AFP's correspondent in Panama City reviewed Mulino's public comments about the canal and could not find any record he said the words attributed to him in the social media posts.

After Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903, the United States signed a treaty with the country that ceded the land required to build the canal. The canal was finished in 1914, costing around $380 million and as many as 25,000 lives from disease and accidents.

In 1977, US President Jimmy Carter signed an agreement with Panama's government, handing over the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999. The treaty deemed the canal neutral and allowed any ship to pass through, but Panama could charge transit fees, require ships to comply with safety regulations and prohibit ships from two countries at war from using it simultaneously (archived here).

Trump's comments triggered protests outside the US embassy in Panama City, where demonstrators burned an image of the Republican businessman and chanted: "Get out invading gringo."

Key passage

An estimated five percent of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, which allows ships traveling between Asia and the US East Coast to avoid the long, hazardous route around the southern tip of South America.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) currently runs the waterway, which charges maritime tariffs to passing military and cargo ships and has pumped more than $28 billion into Panama's treasury since 2000. The ACP is run by a Board of Directors, most of whom are nominated by the president, have financial independence and set transit fees with the cabinet's approval (archived here).

The main users of the passage are the United States, China, Japan and South Korea, according to the ACP.

Military vessels are charged $5.50 for every ton of water they displace when they travel, meaning the US Navy could pay between $45,000 to $55,000 to move the type of destroyer active in the region through the canal as of January 2025 (archived here and here). Some ships might receive different flat fees or charges based on their size or cargo.

The ACP raised the displacement fee from $5.25 per ton in 2024 and $5.00 in 2023 (archived here)

Chinese companies have stepped up financial investments in infrastructure projects near the Panama Canal, with one Chinese-based company buying an island near Colón for $900 million in 2016 and another state-owned firm starting construction of a reportedly $1 billion deep sea port in the area.

AFP has debunked other false claims about US politics here.

Juan José Rodriguez contributed reporting for this fact check.