MEXICO – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed support for Panama’s government on Monday, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday. “Indeed, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians,” Sheinbaum said, speaking during her regular morning press conference. Sheinbaum’s comments came one day after Trump accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage, while speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona. After the event, he posted an image on Truth Social of an American flag flying over a narrow body of water, with the comment: “Welcome to the United States Canal!” (Reuters)

Photo: A cargo vessel transits through locks of Agua Clara at the Panama Canal, in Colon, on the outskirts of Panama City. (Reuters)