U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech, in which he pledged that the United States would retake the Panama Canal, has been reported to the United Nations by Eloy Alfaro de Alba, Panama’s ambassador to the UN, who stated that nations “shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state” as stipulated in the original UN Charter.
The 15-member Security Council received the letter, which was written to Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations. For 2025–2026, Panama will be a member of the council, which is tasked with upholding global peace and security.
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Trump doubled down on his pre-inauguration threat to retake U.S. control of the canal, accusing Panama of reneging on its 1999 commitment to finalize the transfer of the strategic waterway and handing it over to China. The Panamanian government has vehemently refuted these accusations.
Trump declared shortly after taking the oath of office for a second four-year term, “We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back. We didn’t give it to China.”
Alfaro de Alba concurred with Jose Raul Mulino, the president of Panama, who denounced Trump’s comments.
“Dialogue is always the way to clarify the points mentioned without undermining our right, total sovereignty, and ownership of our Canal,” Mulino stated.
For many years, the United States controlled the area around the passage and constructed most of the canal. However, two agreements struck in 1977 between the US and Panama cleared the path for the canal to be fully returned to Panamanian authority. Following a phase of shared management, the United States turned it over in 1999.
