On Sunday’s episode of This Week in South Florida, former U.S. Ambassador to Panama John Feeley weighed in on President-elect Trump’s recent remarks about the Panama Canal.
Trump has nominated a Miami-Dade commissioner as his ambassador to Panama, signaling a South Florida connection to his increasingly vocal plans regarding the canal.
During a speech at Mar-a-Lago, Trump criticized the operation of the canal, accusing China of abusing its control over the vital waterway.
“The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China, and we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China — and they’ve abused it,” he said.
Trump did not rule out the possibility of taking back the canal by military force. This prompted questions about the rationale behind his position and the context of the canal’s operation, which the U.S. built, uses heavily, and handed over to Panama in 1999.
Feeley, a 28-year veteran diplomat with the State Department and now executive director of the Center for Media Integrity of the Americas, shared his perspective on the issue.
Local 10 viewers can listen to his interview on TWISF in the video at the top of this page.
