President-elect Donald Trump’s outlandish threat to seize control of the Panama Canal was made as his companies face ongoing financial and legal troubles in the Central American nation.
During a Sunday speech and in subsequent posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump whined about Panama’s canal fees and suggested that the U.S. could take the Panama Canal back from the Central American nation.
However, an ongoing tax evasion lawsuit reveals the Trump Organization’s troubled history with Panama.
“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,” Trump said at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Arizona.
He continued: “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.”
Not surprisingly, Panama’s president has already responded to Trump’s laughable comments. He essentially said that Panama’s canal is not for sale—which it’s not. Built at the turn of the 20th century, the canal was peacefully turned over to the Panamanians on Dec. 31, 1999, as a result of a 1979 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter.
But the president-elect’s not-so-subtle threats could be yet another instance of him holding grudges and seeking retribution against his political and financial enemies. And as his second term in the White House looms, Trump’s statements regarding Panama serve as another reminder of how he may wield power once officially in office.
Indeed, Trump’s comments likely weren’t made in isolation. In 2019, ProPublica revealed that the owners of a hotel tower in Panama City that formerly operated under the Trump brand accused Trump Panama Hotel Management LLC and Trump International Hotels Management LLC of not paying the 12.5% required taxes to the local government. A legal filing at the time accused the companies of “intentionally evading taxes,” which left the hotel owners liable for millions of dollars.
“Had Trump been honest with Ithaca about its failure to pay taxes on the management fees it earned and its failure to properly report employee salaries to Panama’s social security agency, Ithaca would have never entered into the [licensing deal],” read an updated complaint filed in 2020, according to Newsweek.
While there’s no direct evidence linking Trump’s recent threat to the ongoing tax case, which is still pending in New York District Court, the timing of it all hasn’t escaped notice. Some prominent political commentators have suggested that Trump’s sudden interest in controlling the Panama Canal is derived from his companies’ outstanding tax issues.
This wouldn’t be shocking if proven true. Since Election Day, the president-elect has made thinly veiled threats against and trolled several foreign nations, including Canada and Greenland.
It’s entirely possible, then, that Panama is just the latest foreign nation to stoke Trump’s ire. The problem is that come January, the petty grudge-holder will have the power of the world’s most powerful military behind him.
