Marco Rubio forced into embarrassing walk back on Panama Canal claim Marco Rubio claimed Panama had agreed to stop charging US vessels transiting through the canal.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State said Panama’s government had “agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal.”.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted his claim that Panama would allow American ships to use its canal for free is not true.
But Panama president José Raúl Mulino quickly accused Rubio of spreading “lies and falsehoods” and said his claim was "simply and plainly intolerable.".
Trump’s administration has also expressed fears that China could close the canal to the U.S. in the event of a crisis - something Panama and China have strongly denied.
.png?auto=webp&width=800)
