President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection as US ambassador to Panama, days after suggesting that the United States should take control of the Panama Canal.
“I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a country that is scamming us on the Panama Canal, far beyond your wildest dreams,” Trump posted on the networking platform. Social Truth. Social on Wednesday night.
“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin. “He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our nation’s interests in Panama!” he added.
Cabrera, originally from Miami, won his county election two years ago. A staunch Trump loyalist, he previously served as Florida state director for Trump’s 2020 campaign and as a member of the Republican National Committee’s Platform Committee.
According to his official website, he was born in Cuban exile and graduated from Miami Dade College and Florida International University.
His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Trump’s announcement comes after he mentioned the Panama Canal in a series of lengthy social media posts over Christmas Day and suggested the United States should expand its territory by taking control of the waterway, along with Greenland and Canada.
On Truth Social, Trump wished a Merry Christmas to everyone, “including China’s wonderful soldiers who lovingly, but illegally, operate the Panama Canal.”
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has repeatedly rejected Trump’s statements by emphasizing that the canal is an integral part of the country.
“The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable,” Mulino said in a video posted on social media last weekend.
The Panama Canal is a vital trade route that was originally built by the United States in 1904.
The waterway has been under Panamanian control since 1999 after negotiations between the Carter administration and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos in 1977 led to the establishment of two treaties.
The Panama Canal Authority, an independent government agency, currently manages the canal.
In recent years, China has sought to expand its influence there through infrastructure projects that include a convention center on the Pacific side of the canal and two ports operated by a Hong Kong-based contractor.
Trump also mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he called “governor,” and suggested once again that the United States could annex Canada.
“If Canada became our 51st state, its taxes would be reduced by more than 60%, its businesses would immediately double in size, and it would be militarily protected like no other country in the world,” he said.
Trump continued his post by addressing the “people of Greenland, who the United States needs for national security reasons and who want the United States to be there, and we will do it!”
In response, Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede told Trump in a written comment on Dec. 23 that the Danish territory “is not for sale and never will be for sale,” according to Reuters.
