Panama Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Canal’s Handover

PANAMA CITY:
Panama celebrated the 25th anniversary of the handover of the Panama Canal, which had been under the control of the United States for nearly a century.

The United States inaugurated the canal in 1914 and operated the waterway until December 31, 1999. The Torrijos-Carter Treaties, signed on September 7, 1977, in Washington by Panama’s General Omar Torrijos and then US President Jimmy Carter, ended 85 years of the colonial enclave known as the Panama Canal Zone.

“These 25 years of Panamanian administration … have worked on a common goal: to fulfill the national commitment to a safe and continuous operation for the world,” said Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino at the ceremony held on Tuesday, early Wednesday, India time.

“This canal has to be and has to continue to be the canal of our Panamanians, for Panamanians, at the world’s service but above all for Panamanians mainly,” Mulino said from the steps of the Panama Canal Administration Building, Xinhua news agency reported.

On December 31, 1999, the building was the site of the official handover of the interoceanic waterway from the United States to the Panamanian government led by then-President Mireya Mosco.

Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez Morales highlighted the achievements made during 25 years of Panamanian management, including the canal’s expansion and construction of the Third Set of Locks, which began operating in 2016.

During the ceremony, Miguel Guerra, the first Panamanian hired by the Panama Canal following its historic handover in 1999, received Panama’s Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa from Mulino.

On December 25, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) had strongly condemned recent comments by US President-elect Donald Trump, who hinted at the possibility of taking control of the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal is a vital international waterway protected by international law and historic agreements, including the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, the alliance said in an official statement issued in Caracas.

These treaties affirm that the canal is an integral part of Panamanian territory, the statement said.

ALBA-TCP described Trump’s remarks as an act of aggression against Panama’s sovereignty, warning that such statements represent a threat not only to Panama, but to the broader Latin American and Caribbean region.

The Panama Canal was returned to Panamanian control by the United States in 1999 according to the Torrijos-Carter Treaties signed in 1977 under pressure from the Panamanian people.