by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Following a visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the weekend, Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino announced his intention to terminate major trade and development pact with China and stated he is interested in American investment in Panamanian infrastructure instead, the New York Post reports.
After meeting with Rubio during the Secretary of State’s first official trip abroad, Mulino told reporters that Panama will allow its 2017 trade and development pact involving China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” to expire, the Post reports.
Mulino’s announcement follows recent threats by US President Trump to seize control of the Panama Canal, claiming “American ships are being severely overcharged” and accusing China of “operating” the waterway, the Post notes.
“Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and [Foreign] Minister [Javier] Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal,” a State Department readout of the Rubio meeting says.
“Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty,” the readout states.
In any event, Mulino added that the Canal remains under sovereign Panamanian control, the Post reports.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The United Kingdom will not allow the Pentagon to use British-controlled bases to launch potential military strikes against Iran, according to a report by The Times of London.
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled what he called a historic new diplomatic framework — the “Board of Peace” — during an inaugural meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, announcing billions in pledges for Gaza reconstruction and signaling that a major decision on Iran could come within days.
President Donald Trump is weighing an initial, limited military strike on Iran aimed at forcing Tehran to meet U.S. demands for a comprehensive nuclear agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that federal investigators have identified what he described as substantial funding streams connected to antifa-linked activities, signaling possible new enforcement actions as the bureau deepens its focus on left-wing violence.
Iran has issued a formal aviation warning ahead of what it described as “extensive missile launches,” closing broad sections of its southern airspace on Thursday amid mounting regional tensions.
The United States is assembling its most significant concentration of air power in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War, positioning advanced fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and support assets amid rising tensions with Iran.
The United States military has helped avert a potentially catastrophic mass escape of thousands of Islamic State (ISIS) militants from detention facilities in northeastern Syria as instability deepened in the region, officials said.