Fact check: Can Trump technically 'take back' Panama Canal?

Published January 22, 2025

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German news outlet Deutsche Welle quotes Carla Martínez Machain in a story fact-checking President Trump’s promise to “take back” the Panama Canal. The Neutrality Treaty guaranteed the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal, which would remain accessible to all nations in both times of peace and war. Martínez Machain confirmed to DW that this neutrality remains intact: “Any ship from any country wishing to transit the canal has the right to do so after paying a fee,” she said.

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