Panama Opens Audit of Chinese Port Operator While Trump Threatens to Take Canal Back
Panamanian authorities began an audit of the China-linked company that controls two ports adjacent to the Panama canal, as President Donald Trump repeats threats to take over the waterway.
The comptroller’s office sent a team of auditors on Monday to the local offices of the
Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Port Holdings to launch their investigation, the comptroller’s office
said on X.
Comptroller General Anel Bolo Flores said last week the probe would seek to verify compliance with the terms of a 25-year concession granted to the company and promised a “severe and strong” financial audit. Panama initially granted the concession in 1998, and the Panama Maritime Authority authorized its renewal in 2021.
Flores said the ports now handle significantly more cargo than in 1998 and the concession doesn’t include a large enough share of revenue for the government.
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Panama Leader Refutes Trump’s Claim of Chinese Meddling in Canal
The scrutiny comes as Trump accuses Panama of allowing China to meddle in the canal. In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump reiterated his claim that China is operating the waterway and said that his administration would take it back.
Panama’s government has repeatedly denied that there is any Chinese presence in the canal, and Trump hasn’t yet produced any evidence to contradict this.
President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday reiterated in a post on X that the canal will remain under Panamanian control.
