Panamanian government claims the canal is an irreversible conquest

Panama has proclaimed that the sovereignty of its interoceanic canal "is not negotiable," hours after the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, did not deny that he might consider military measures to retake control of the strategic route.

"The president (of Panama) José Raúl Mulino has already said: the sovereignty of our canal is non-negotiable and is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest," said Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha while reading a statement.

The citizens of the United States are optimistic about the direction of their nation, just days before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

He stated that "the only hands that control the canal are Panamanian and that will continue to be the case," refuting Trump's claims that Chinese military personnel are managing the route that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic and drives 5% of global maritime trade.

He stated that on January 20, when the elected president assumes their new mandate, the relationship between the United States and Panama will be managed through the usual and appropriate official channels.

The 80-kilometer canal that the United States built was inaugurated in 1914.   To safeguard it, Washington created a site where the United States flag shone and it had its own military bases, police, and courts.

In 1977, the then U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the leader of Panama, Omar Torrijos, signed agreements through which the United States granted Panama the interoceanic route on December 31, 1999.

However, according to some interpretations, a modification of those agreements would allow the United States, unilaterally, to reclaim the canal if Washington perceives that the route is in danger.

At a press conference in Florida, Trump refused to rule out military options that would allow him to regain control of the canal or Greenland.

In response to the question of whether he could assure that he would not use the armed forces to annex the Panama Canal and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, Trump replied: "I can't assure it, for either of them."

"I can say the following: we need them for economic security reasons." I'm not going to commit to that (to ruling out military action).  It could happen that we have to do something," declared Trump.

"Our canal has the mission of serving humanity and its commerce."  That is one of the great values that Panamanians offer to the world, guaranteeing the international community that we will not take part or be actively involved in any conflict," Martínez-Acha later stated.