Donald Trump recently claimed that the United States is being “ripped off” by the Panama Canal’s administrators and alleged that “Chinese soldiers” are operating the canal. He has threatened to “demand the return of the Panama Canal” to the United States. On December 23rd, Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, responded by asserting that “every square metre of the Panama Canal” is the country’s property, a stance supported by opposition parties. Trump’s actual objectives might be less extreme, but their specifics remain unclear