The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened to take back the Panama Canal if it does not reduce the price of tolls for American ships. China was accused of being behind the operations of the interoceanic route.
Here are five key points about the canal:
Panamanian administration, not China
The 80 km long interoceanic route is operated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous public entity.
Its functions are described in the Constitution, which establishes that the canal "constitutes an inalienable heritage of the Panamanian Nation" and is open to ships "of all nations."
The United States, with 74% of the cargo, and China, with 21%, are its main users. They are followed by Japan, South Korea and Chile.
The Panamanian government sets, at the request of the ACP, the price of the tolls based on the needs of the canal and the demand in international trade.
The tariff is determined by the cargo capacity of the ships, not by the country of origin.
"The canal has no direct or indirect control, neither by China nor by the European community nor by the United States or any other power," said Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, rejecting Trump's threats.
All ships, including warships and submarines, are driven by a Panamanian pilot while navigating the canal.
Part of national history
Panama's independence in 1903 from Colombia is linked to the interoceanic canal.
After the failure of the French Count Ferdinand de Lesseps to open a canal in the isthmus, the United States promoted the separation of the province of Panama and signed a treaty with the nascent country that gave it land and water in perpetuity to build it.
After 10 years of construction and an investment of 380 million dollars at the time, the canal was inaugurated on August 15, 1914 with the crossing of the steamer Ancón.
25,000 people died from illness and accidents during the French and American construction.
The canal "is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest," said Mulino.
American enclave
Washington established the "Canal Zone," an enclave where the American flag flew with its own military bases, police and justice system.
This gave rise to decades of Panamanian demands to reunify the country and take control of the waterway.
In 1977, Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos and US President Jimmy Carter signed the treaties that allowed the canal to be handed over to Panama on December 31, 1999.
"Any attempt to reverse this historic achievement not only dishonors our struggle, but is also an insult to the memory of those who made it possible," wrote former President Martin Torrijos, the general's son, on social media.
The Torrijos-Carter treaties, supported by more than 40 countries, establish that the canal is neutral and any ship can pass through.
The only condition is that it meets safety standards and that military vessels from countries in conflict do not pass through at the same time.
Shortcut with elevators
The canal connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic. Unlike the Suez Canal in Egypt, it operates with fresh water (rainwater), stored in two artificial lakes.
A drought put operations in jeopardy at the end of 2023 and the number of transits was reduced, but the situation has returned to normal.
The waterway works with locks, a kind of elevator that raises ships 26 meters to reach the level of Gatun Lake and cross it.
Another set of locks lowers them to sea level to continue their route.
The canal transformed navigation and world trade. Ships pass from one ocean to the other in about eight hours without having to go to Cape Horn, at the southern tip of America. From New York to San Francisco, a ship saves a 20,300 km journey.
The goose that lays the golden eggs
The canal, through which five percent of the world's maritime trade circulates, connects more than 1,900 ports in 170 countries.
At the beginning of the 21st century it had become too small, so between 2009 and 2016 it was expanded. Today, ships up to 366-metres long and 49-metres wide can pass through, equivalent to almost four football fields.
The canal contributes six percent of Panama's GDP. Since 2000, it has delivered more than 28 billion dollars to the treasury, much more than in the 85 years of US administration (1.878 billion).
In the last fiscal year, more than 11,200 ships crossed it, with 423 million tons of cargo, and it contributed 2.47 billion dollars to the treasury.
The Americans "benefited greatly from the canal, it was never a gift" to Panama, former head of the ACP Jorge Quijano told AFP.
by Juan José Rodríguez, AFP
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