Trump demands free passage for US ships through Panama and Suez canals

Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social last weekend that American ships should be allowed to travel through the Panama and Suez Canals free of charge.

Before returning to the White House, the billionaire had vowed that the United States would regain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal for "security purposes."

"American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals! Those Canals would not exist without the United States of America. I've asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialize, this situation!" the American leader wrote on Saturday.

Trump also hinted that China’s growing influence in Central America was harming any chance of successful negotiations.

Earlier this year, in February, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that Chinese companies were controlling critical infrastructure near the Panama Canal and that this “surveillance” was economically damaging for both the United States and Panama.

(QG - Source: Newsweek — Picture : © Unsplash)