Panama reacted harshly to Trump's statements

"The sovereignty of our channel is non-negotiable and is part of our history of struggle for independence," Martinez-Acha said.

He also rejected Trump's claims that the Panama Canal is now allegedly being operated by China.

The only hands that control the canal are Panamanian, and it will continue to be so, the minister emphasized.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino previously called Trump's statement "nonsense," denying any Chinese interference.

China is the second-largest user of the Panama Canal after the United States, and is also a major investor in the Central American country, as it is in many other parts of the world.

Trump threatens to take over the Panama Canal militarily

US President-elect Donald Trump does not rule out the use of force to control Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Asked whether he would rule out economic or military coercion to gain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, Trump said he would not confirm this.

No. We may have to do something.... You're talking about Panama and Greenland - no, I can't assure you of either.

Donald Trump

Newly elected US president

It is noted that Trump himself has repeatedly expressed his desire for the United States to buy Greenland, calling the Danish territory and the largest island in the world an "absolute necessity" for national security.

People don't even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if it does, they should give it up (Greenland - ed.) because we need it for national security.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who rejected Trump's first offer to buy Greenland in 2019, called his new statement "absurd."

Trump has also previously demanded that Panama restore ownership of the canal, which the United States transferred to Panama in 1977.