Donald Trump has an outstanding tax evasion case in Panama, the same country he’s just publicly accused of financial wrongdoing, according to Newsweek.
Trump railed against Panama’s commerce policies while speaking at the Turning Point USA conference in Arizona on Sunday, threatening to take over the Panama Canal.
“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair. Especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama, I say very foolishly, by the United States,” the president-elect told the conference crowd. “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 full, quickly and without question.”
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, himself a conservative, rebuked Trump.
“As president, I want to express clearly that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama, and will continue to do so,” he said in a video statement. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.”
Every analysis of this new Trump threat should come with a reminder: In 2019, the owners of a Panama City hotel tower that was previously managed and operated under the Trump brand, accused Trump Panama Hotel Management LLC and Trump International Hotels Management LLC, of not paying the required 12.5 percent taxes to the Panamanian government. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, the companies simply kept the money, “intentionally evading taxes” and leaving the new owner liable for millions.
A tax audit of the hotels submitted as evidence found massive inconsistencies. The case is still pending in New York District Court.
