"Trump, you animal!"

Panama Canal: Angry protests after threat

These Panamanians regard Donald Trump as an "enemy of the state".(Bild: APA/AFP/ARNULFO FRANCO)

Future US President Donald Trump's threat to bring the Panama Canal back into US hands has led to an uproar in the Central American country. Angry protesters burned a picture of Trump on Tuesday and berated the "animal".

Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in the city of Panama, chanting slogans such as "Trump, you animal, leave the canal alone". Some demonstrators carried banners reading "Donald Trump, public enemy of Panama". The people of Panama had shown "that they are capable of reclaiming their territory and we will not give it up again", said protester Jorge Guzmán to the AFP news agency.

A clear message posted on the security gate of the US embassy in Panama(Bild: APA/AFP/ARNULFO FRANCO)

Trade union leader: "Imperial madness"
"Panama is a sovereign territory and the canal here is Panamanian," said Saúl Méndez, head of a construction workers' union that helped organize the protest. "Donald Trump and his imperial madness cannot claim a single centimeter of land in Panama." 

These Panamanians consider Donald Trump an "enemy of the state".(Bild: APA/AFP/ARNULFO FRANCO)

On Saturday, Trump criticized the "ridiculously high fees" charged by the Central American state for the passage of the link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that should Panama not be able to guarantee the "safe, efficient and reliable operation" of the canal, the USA would "demand the complete and unconditional return of the Panama Canal".

President: "Panama's independence is not negotiable"
Panama's head of state José Raúl Mulino immediately rejected this. Panama's sovereignty and independence are "non-negotiable", explained Mulino and demanded "respect" for his country. 

The USA completed the Panama Canal, which is of central importance for world trade, in 1914. In 1977, the then Democratic US President Jimmy Carter and the then Panamanian military ruler Omar Torrijos signed an agreement to hand over the canal to Panama. In 1999, the Panamanian state took control of the waterway.