President Donald Trump cast himself both as a peacemaker and fierce defender of US interests in a mercurial return to the White House on Jan 20, vowing to seize the Panama Canal but also imploring Russia to make a deal on Ukraine.
In only his first hours back as president, Mr Trump also halted Cuba’s delisting from a state sponsors of terrorism blacklist and – symbolically but provocatively – announced he was rechristening the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.
Mr Trump, in his inaugural address, repeated his complaint that China was effectively “operating” the Panama Canal through its growing presence around the vital waterway, which the US handed over at the end of 1999.
“We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Mr Trump said after taking the oath inside the US Capitol.
Mr Trump has been raising pressure for weeks over the canal – through which 40 per cent of US container traffic travels – and has repeatedly refused to rule out military force against Panama, historically friendly to Washington.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino swiftly denied that any other nation was interfering in the canal, which he said his country operated with a principle of neutrality.
“The canal is and will remain Panama’s,” Mr Mulino said, calling for dialogue to address any issues.
At his inauguration, Mr Trump complained that US merchant and navy ships were “being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form”.
He added: “The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated.”
Mr Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of Nato ally Denmark where Russia has been increasingly active as ice melts due to climate change.
The Panama Canal was built by the US, mostly with Afro-Caribbean labour and opened in 1914.
Then US President Jimmy Carter negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.
