Panama president decries US ‘lies’ about canal | Australian Markets

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino says the USA is spreading “lies and falsehoods” after the State Division claimed US authorities vessels would have the ability to cross the Panama Canal with out paying a price.

The fiery allegations are the latest level of pressure between the 2 international locations which have clashed over the canal since US President Donald Trump claimed the very important waterway had successfully been taken over by China and vowed “we’re taking it back.”

Chatting with journalists, Mulino expressed his “absolute rejection” of managing US-Panama ties “based on lies and falsehoods.”

The Panama Canal Authority issued a assertion late on Wednesday denying the declare from the US State Division earlier within the day that Panama’s authorities had agreed to no longer charge crossing charges for US authorities vessels, in a transfer that may save the US hundreds of thousands of {dollars} a yr.

Trump has accused the Central American nation of charging extreme charges to make use of its trade passage, one of the busiest within the world.

“Why are they making an important institutional statement from the entity that governs the foreign policy of the United States, under the President of the United States, based on a falsehood?” Mulino requested on Thursday, calling the State Division’s declare “simply and plainly intolerable”.

Mulino stated he had requested his ambassador in Washington to take “firm steps” to disclaim the Trump administration’s declare.