On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State said that vessels from the American government can now transit through the Panama Canal free of charge moving forward.
This agreement will save the United States government millions of dollars annually, said the department.
Macro Rubio, Secretary of State, met with Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino during a trip to Central America on Sunday.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, talked to Mulino on the phone, discussing U.S. and Panama’s shared security interests. The pair agreed to expand cooperation between both nations’ armed forces.
The talks also highlighted the expanding cooperation between the two countries, including the Department of Defense and the Panama Canal Authority.
The Panama Canal has become one of the Trump administration’s geopolitical focal points as President Donald Trump has accused the Panamanians of excessively charging for the use of its passage.
Last month, Trump demanded that Panama either lower the fees for U.S. ships or return the canal to the U.S. Mulino, however, dismissed Trump’s threat to retake the canal.
The U.S. has largely built the Panama Canal and administered it for decades before it was given to Panama in 1999.
