After Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino issued a statement on Wednesday (February 2) that "he denied that U.S. government ships could pass through the Panama Canal free of charge," U.S. Secretary of State Marco RubioMarco Rubio) responded on Friday (7th) that the practice of charging tolls for US warships using this waterway was "absurd."
"It's absurd to have to pay for areas that we are obliged to protect in the event of conflict. Those are our assumptions," Rubio said in an interview in the Dominican Republic, according to AFP. However, he also said, "They (Panama) are a democratically elected government and they will follow their procedures, but this is what we expect."
Earlier, after Rubio visited Panama, the US State Department made a big move and posted a message on the social platform X, announcing that the Panamanian government had agreed to "no longer charge tolls to US government ships." However, a day later, Murino refuted the claim, calling it false and "intolerable."
Panamanian media LA PRENSA reported that Murino stressed that the president had no right to waive canal tolls, and cited the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) regulations that neither the government nor the authority may waive tolls, fees or taxes on transoceanic routes, which is also protected by the constitution.
Murino further stated that he had explained to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that under the Constitution and laws, the president does not have the authority to determine, adjust or cancel canal tolls. He noted that the Panamanian government understands the internal situation in the United States, but will not succumb to pressure or accept decisions that go against democratic principles."
At the same time, the Panamanian government was originally scheduled to hold a telephone conference with US President Donald Trump on the 7th, but it was postponed due to changes in the US schedule. The two countries will coordinate a new date for the call.
