Trump wants free pass for US ships in Panama, Suez canals

United States President Donald Trump said U.S. military and commercial ships should be allowed to travel free of charge through the Panama and Suez canals, two strategic routes for global trade and military operations.

"Those Canals would not exist without the United States of America," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Saturday. "I’ve asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialize, this situation," Trump added.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Panama’s management of the canal through that country and has floated plans to take back the waterway, refusing to rule out military force in doing so. The canal was constructed by the U.S. in the early 1900s and ceded back to Panama in 1977.

In December, Trump accused China of expanding its influence in the management of the Panama Canal and slammed officials for charging “exorbitant prices and rates of passage.” 

The Panama Canal connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

Both are essential for global commerce, cutting down shipping time and costs, while also giving militaries a quick way to move between oceans, strengthening geopolitical influence.

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino responded on X, without naming Trump, that the "transits and costs of all vessels through our Canal" are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous governing body. "There is no agreement to the contrary," Mulino said.