Panama’s UN Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba said that under the founding U.N. Charter, countries ”shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”.
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A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, September 2, 2024. File Image/AP
Panama has raised concerns with the United Nations over US President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech, in which he said that the United States would “take back” the Panama Canal.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Panama’s UN Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba cited the U.N. Charter saying that countries must refrain from threatening or using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
The letter was circulated to the 15-member Security Council, where Panama holds a seat for the 2025-26 term which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose U.S. control over the canal, Trump on Monday accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China – claims that the Panamanian government has strongly denied.
”We didn’t give it to C