Panama says US ‘spreading lies’ over free canal passage

The Panama Canal is a 51-mile (82km) passage that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the Central American country.

All vessels are required to pay a fee, based on size and type, for crossing the waterway but US ships have priority of passage.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the State Department wrote: “U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars a year.”

Mulino reacted to the statement by saying he rejects “this method of managing bilateral relations on the basis of lies and falsehoods.”

He said he asked his ambassador in Washington to take “firm steps” to reject the claim, calling it “simply and plainly intolerable.”

Mulino added that US government vessels, including navy vessels, paid “$6-7m [£4.8-5.6m] a year” for the right of passage.

“It’s not as if the canal toll is breaking the economy of the United States,” he added.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) also made a statement saying it had “not made any adjustment” to tolls, adding that it was open to establishing a dialogue.

After Rubio and Mulino’s meeting, Panama announced it would not renew its membership of China’s infrastructure-building programme, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Rubio welcomed this move, calling it “a great step forward”, though Panama denied that the decision had been made at the request of the US.

Trump has expressed fears that China could close the canal to the US in the event of a crisis – something Panama and China have strongly denied.

On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, Lin Jian, said its partnership with Panama was yielding “fruitful results” and urged the country to “resist external interferences.”