The Panama Canal. Photo: Federico Rios/The New York Times.
On Tuesday, the member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) expressed their strongest condemnation of United States President-elect Donald Trump’s statement in which he threatened to take control of the Panama Canal.
Through a statement published on Telegram, the multilateral bloc condemned this new threat to the Latin American and Caribbean region. It also reaffirmed its support for the Republic of Panama in defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-determination.
In the statement, ALBA-TCP points out that the Panama Canal is an important commercial passage protected by International Law, the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, and the Treaty Relating to Permanent Neutrality and the Operation of the Panama Canal, which, as an immutable law, establishes that the maritime route is an inalienable part of Panamanian territory. Thus, Trump’s statement represents an aggression against Panama’s sovereignty.
ALBA-TCP Summit Approves Declaration of Principles and Commitments
An unofficial translation of the full text is provided below:
ALBA-TCP condemns statements by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, regarding the Panama Canal.
The member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) express their strongest condemnation of the statements by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, in which he threatened to take control of the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal is an important commercial passage protected by International Law, the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, and the Treaty Relating to Permanent Neutrality and the Operation of the Panama Canal, which, as an immutable law, establishes that the maritime route is an inalienable part of Panamanian territory, so this claim represents an aggression against the sovereignty of that country.
The Bolivarian Alliance categorically condemns this new threat to the Latin American and Caribbean region and supports the Republic of Panama in the defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-determination.
Nearly 200 years after Simón Bolívar called the Congress of Panama, the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance reaffirm the validity of the union as the only way to confront the voracity of the empires and ratify all their solidarity with the Panamanian government against this new grievance.
Caracas, December 24, 2024
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/BR/SF
