NEW YORK CITY, Fla. — Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino mentioned both the neutrality of the Panama Canal and the immigration crisis at the Darien Gap during his speech on Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

The United States built the canal at the beginning of the 20th century, operated it for more than eight decades, and gave Panama control with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 and the Neutrality Treaty that followed.

In August, U.S. and Chinese diplomats clashed over the Panama Canal at the U.N., and President Donald Trump declared that he wanted the U.S. to “recover” the canal to counteract Chinese influence.

“Neutrality is the most appropriate formula to protect the security of our canal, a global asset. The neutral Panama Canal, open to the world and facilitating more integrated international trade, is and will remain Panamanian,” said Mulino, who took office in July 2024.

Mulino called for world leaders to address what caused the immigration crisis in the Darién Gap, a crossing for the flow of migrants crossing into Panama from Colombia on their way to the United States.

“Today, we are seeing north-south migration on a much smaller scale, but which renews our commitment to the orderly transit of people so that they may return home,” Mulino said. “I must say that while the migratory crisis has been resolved, the causes of mass immigration remain unaddressed.”

Mulino also mentioned the “unchecked migration” on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

“It is essential to find clear solutions both to the Haitian crisis and to effectively control the migration flow,” Mulino said.

Watch Mulino’s speech

Complete coverage

Panamanian president defends canal neutrality at UN, reports ‘north-south migration on a much smaller scale’ at Darien

About The Author

Andrea Torres