'Trump is lying again!': Panama President José Raúl Mulino slams US claims of 'reclaiming' canal

Panama President José Raúl Mulino launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump, accusing him of “lying again” after the former US president claimed his administration was “reclaiming” the Panama Canal.
Mulino’s fiery response came after Trump boasted about a deal in which a US-led consortium, headed by BlackRock Inc., acquired a controlling stake in a Chinese-operated port company in Panama. Trump has long pushed the idea that the US should retake control of the canal, arguing it was a mistake to hand it over to Panama in 1999.
“I reject in the name of Panama and all Panamanians this new affront to the truth and our dignity as a nation,” Mulino declared on X, dismissing the notion that the US exerted any pressure on the deal.
The $23 billion sale still awaits approval from Panama’s government. Meanwhile, Trump continues to push the narrative that the US was “overcharged” for using the canal, despite Panama’s insistence that China never controlled its operations.