PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed a phone call with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino due to last-minute changes in the U.S. leader’s agenda, Panama’s government said on Friday, amid tensions over U.S. threats to take over the Panama Canal.
Panama’s foreign office will share details on the new date once it has been coordinated, the government said.
Mulino has accused the U.S. of spreading “lies and falsehoods” after its government claimed its vessels would be able to pass through the Panama Canal without paying.
He has also rejected claims that China controls the canal, a key shipping waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and has soldiers there.
The canal is controlled and operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous agency overseen by the Panamanian government.
The two leaders had been scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. local time on Friday afternoon.
Following a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mulino said his country would not renew a broad agreement to contribute to China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure development plan.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry)
