President Trump’s warnings about Chinese influence over the waterway that the U.S. completed in 1914 ring true as Panama files lawsuits against an abusive contract between the country and Panama Ports Company (PPC).
Breitbart reported that Comptroller General of Panama Anel Flores filed two separate lawsuits on Wednesday at Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ). The lawsuits demanded that the decades-old contract with Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, be rendered null.
In a press release shared by Breitbart, Flores had said, “The duty of this Comptroller’s Office is to defend the money of Panamanians and always be on the side of the best national interest.” The lawsuits are a result of a months-long audit that revealed a number of irregularities. These irregularities included multiple breaches of contract that resulted in more than $300 million in losses to the Panamanian state.
The PPC has administered two ports at opposite ends of the canal since 1997 and has been the center of strong debates by President Trump, as he called for the U.S. to regain control of the Panama Canal.
According to Breitbart, in early May this year, U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera had said that Panama was working together to eliminate China’s malign influence in the Panama Canal.
Cabrera had said, “We are, once again, concerned about our national security and economic security, and it is very important that the canal not be subject to any kind of Chinese influence.” Cabrera had also said that more than 70 percent of ships that passed through the canal were coming or going from the U.S.
During his press conference on Panama’s relationship with the PPC, Flores explained that the relationship has been harmful and that the economic benefits of the PPC have been minimal. Breitbart reported that Panamanian President José Raul Mulino expressed his support for the legal action, saying during a press conference, “The Comptroller’s lawsuit, which I fully support, is well justified.”
He added, “ We have all seen what that contract has cost the Panamanian nation over time. What we have not gained from it, apart from the fact that we are 10-percent shareholders, is a very, very paltry sum.”
