LatinNews Daily - 6 February 2025

*The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has denied claims by the US State Department that US government vessels will no longer be charged for using the Canal. In a social media post yesterday, the State Department had announced that “the government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for US government vessels to transit the Panama Canal”, which it said would save the US “millions of dollars a year”. However, the ACP later released a statement saying that “with regard to the announcement by the US State Department, the ACP, which is responsible for setting prices and other Canal transit rights, announces that no adjustment has been made to them”. The ACP added that it is “willing to establish a dialogue with the relevant officials from the US regarding the transit of warships from that country”. This comes amid wider pressure from the US government led by President Donald Trump on Panama over the Canal, which it has threatened to ‘take back’ unless Panama addresses its concerns over Chinese influence over the Canal and ups cooperation with the US Navy, among other demands.