Trump Appoints Kevin Cabrera Ambassador to Panama – Rezazade

Vice President of the Iranian Opposition in Washington (NIC) Ali Reza Rezazade points out that the election of Kevin Cabrera, the Miami-Dade County Commissioner, came a few days after Donald Trump’s statement on the need to restore US control over the Panama Canal.

President-elect Donald Trump named the Florida Commissioner as his ambassador to Panama. This came after Trump called for the United States to restore control over the Panama Canal.

Kevin Cabrera, Miami-Dade County Commissioner for the 6th District and vice chairman of the International Trade Consortium, worked on Trump’s 2020 campaign. In January of this year, he received Trump’s endorsement when he ran for vice chairman of the Florida Republican Party. He also represented the state on the Republican National Committee’s platform committee.

“Few understand Latin American politics like Kevin,” Trump wrote on social media. “He will be a fantastic representative of our nation in Panama!”

Trump said the United States could demand the return of the Panama Canal if the country does not reduce the fees it charges American ships. In announcing his decision on Cabrera, he accused Panama of “ripping off the Panama Canal to the limit of its dreams.”

The Panama Canal is a man-made waterway about 50 miles long that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans through Panama. It is vital to world trade, cutting thousands of miles and weeks of travel around the southern tip of South America. The United States controlled the canal from its completion in 1914 until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter transferred control to the Panama Canal Commission, a joint agency of the two countries. Full control passed to Panama in 1999.

Trump also expressed concern that the canal could fall into the “wrong hands,” referring to China, the canal’s second-largest user. A Hong Kong company controls two ports along the waterway, but China has no control over the canal itself.

In another social media post on Wednesday, Trump wrote: “Merry Christmas to everyone, including the wonderful soldiers of China who lovingly but illegally operate the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people building it 110 years ago), always ensuring that the United States invests billions of dollars in its “repairs” but has no say in “anything.”

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino Quintero responded to Trump's statements in a video message this week: "As President, I want to state clearly that every square meter of the Panama Canal and the adjacent area is part of Panama and will remain so."