Panama Marks 25 Years Since the Handover of the Canal
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Panama City, Dec 31 (NationPress) - Panama commemorated the 25th anniversary of the transfer of the Panama Canal, which had been governed by the United States for almost a century.
The United States inaugurated the canal in 1914 and managed the waterway until December 31, 1999. The Torrijos-Carter Treaties, signed on September 7, 1977 by Panama's General Omar Torrijos and then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter, concluded 85 years of colonial oversight 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," stated Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino during the ceremony held early Wednesday, India time.
"This canal has to be and must continue to be the canal of our Panamanians, for Panamanians, at the world's service but above all for Panamanians mainly," Mulino emphasized from the steps of the Panama Canal Administration Building, as reported by Xinhua.
On December 31, 1999, this building was the site of the official transfer of the interoceanic waterway from the United States to the Panamanian government led by then-President Mireya Mosco.
Ricaurte Vasquez Morales, the Administrator of the Panama Canal, underscored the accomplishments achieved over 25 years of Panamanian governance, including the canal's expansion and the construction of the Third Set of Locks, which began operations in 2016.
During the ceremony, Miguel Guerra, the first Panamanian employed by the Panama Canal following its historic handover in 1999, was awarded Panama's Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa by Mulino.
On December 25, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) strongly condemned recent remarks by US President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested a possible reassertion of control over the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal is a crucial international waterway safeguarded by international law and historical agreements, including the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, as affirmed by the alliance in a statement released in Caracas.
These treaties declare that the canal is an essential part of Panamanian territory, the statement noted.
ALBA-TCP characterized Trump's comments as an act of aggression against Panama's sovereignty, voicing concerns that such assertions pose a threat not only to Panama but to the wider Latin American and Caribbean region.
The Panama Canal was returned to Panamanian authority by the United States in 1999 under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties signed in 1977 amid pressure from the Panamanian populace.
