In his usual weekly press conference, the president announced that the head of American diplomacy should arrive on Saturday night to meet with him on Sunday morning, but still without a definitive agenda.
In some initial reflections before the round of questions and answers, Mulino asserted that he was confident that the crisis surrounding the threats of his American counterpart, Donald Trump, to “recover” the canal will be “overcome” because “there is no basis for a confrontation.
These are my reflections in the face of a historic, delicate moment in the country’s international policy with the United States that I hope and trust will be overcome. I have full confidence in that. I am not interested in any type of dispute, any type of confrontation. First, because there is no basis for a confrontation,’ he stressed.
In his first presentation, Mulino pointed out that his government has not received any information from either the United States embassy or the Secretary of State about foreign military presence in the interoceanic route.
“The Canal is controlled by Panama and has always been and will continue to be in Panamanian hands. It grew and expanded for the benefit of world trade and since 1977 the Canal has been neutral,” he said.
According to Mulino, there are other issues on which both governments could engage in conversations, such as irregular migration, organized crime, money laundering and the increase in drug exports, whose main market is in the United States.
“We can talk about these issues, we can reach agreements that are beneficial for both parties, hopefully that will be the case,” he said.
According to the governor, it is a very costly activity for the Panamanian treasury to try to resolve an issue “that is not ours” in a clear allusion to drug trafficking that sends cocaine to the northern country.
Mulino also indicated that honoring heroes is the DNA of Panamanians in defense of sovereignty over the river route, while reiterating that ties with the United States are strategic.
When asked by reporters about the so-called interference of China and whether it would ease tensions by withdrawing concessions from the ports of Balboa and San Cristóbal, at the entrance to the canal on the Pacific and Atlantic, respectively, and the construction of a fourth bridge on the river route, Mulino indicated that his government is respectful of the rule of law and in both cases they inherited obligations from the parties.
In this regard, he recalled that the Comptroller General of the Republic, for the first time in history, began a forensic audit of Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of the Chinese consortium Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, which has not paid “a cent” to the State for three years.
If there is any anomaly in this concession, he said, actions would be taken, but we must wait for the results of the inspection led by the new comptroller Anel Flores, he explained.
Mulino insisted on this point that the ties with the United States are historic and privileged, despite ups and downs; and pointed out that he inherited from the administration of Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) the commercial and diplomatic relations with China since 2017, “they are there, they are not discussed,” and urged that the former president should be asked about the irregularities committed in the establishment of these ties.
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