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The American giant of the management of BlackRock assets agreed to buy two ports at each end of the Panama Canal from a company based in Hong Kong whose property had angry President Donald Trump.
Trump said on several occasions during the contribution of his inauguration and since his entry into office, he intends to “resume” the Panama Canal of Panama, which took control of the crucial international waterway in 1999 under a negotiated treaty with the United States 20 years earlier. And he cited Chinese property of some of the port operations as a sign that China now directs the canal.
“China operates the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama and take it back, “said Trump during his inaugural speech. During a January press conference before its inauguration, Trump did not exclude using military force or economic constraint to regain control of the channel.
The agreement announced on Tuesday called for Blackrock and a consortium of investor colleagues to spend $ 22.8 billion to buy Balboa and Cristobal ports at each end of the CK Hutchison channel, a Hong Kong company. He declared that the agreement is an “agreement in principle”. The BlackRock consortium also buys the control of CK Hutchison in 43 other ports including 199 spaces in 23 countries, but none of the ports it operates in China or Hong Kong.
“These world -class ports facilitate global growth,” a statement from the CEO of Blackrock, Larry Fink. “Thanks to our deep connectivity with organizations like Hutchison … and governments around the world, we are increasingly the first call for partners looking for long -term patient capital. We are delighted that our customers can participate in this investment. »»
Blackrock is one of the largest asset managers in the world, with a huge pool of 11.6 billions of dollars in assets. For the context, this equal sum is around 40% of the gross domestic product in the United States, the widest measure of the economic activity of a nation. Unlike certain conglomerates, it does not completely control a large number of high -level companies. But among its participations, it holds the second largest participation in some of the most important and prosperous companies in the country, including Walmart, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and the owner of Google Alphabet.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States in the first years of the 20th century and was completed in 1914. For most of this century, it was operated by the United States, before the Carter administration negotiated its transfer to Panama in a controversial treaty opposed by many Republicans at the time.
The 51 -mile channel is the key to the international trade and American military ships movement. About 4% of global maritime trade and more than 40% of American container traffic cross the channel.
And this is a key element in the Panama economy. In 2024, the canal carried out nearly $ 5 billion in total profits. According to a study published in December by IDB Invest, 23.6% of the annual income of Panama comes from the channel and from the companies which provide services related to the operations of the canal.
Since its transfer in 1999, the canal itself has been exploited by Panama, not the Chinese, despite the declared concerns of Trump.
The White House did not comment immediate on the purchase, although it seems likely that it could appease Trump’s concerns about Chinese influence on the navigable track. Mike Waltz, the national security adviser for the administration, told journalists at the end of last month that the management of Panama had concluded “negotiations on the fight against ports on each side of the canal”.
But the elimination of Chinese influence is only part of Trump’s requests on Panama, including Panama ceases to charge costs to American ships. During his first trip abroad as Secretary of State, who began with a judgment in Panama, Marco Rubio said that he had accepted that American ships are allowed to cross the channel without charge.
Rubio said the United States would be forced to protect the Panama canal if it was attacked, adding that it had found “absurd that we had to pay costs to pass an area that we are forced to protect in conflict time”.
“These are our expectations. They were clear. They were clearly understood in these conversations, “he said in the remarks he made in the Dominican Republic after leaving Panama.
– Patrick Oppman of CNN, Phil Mattingly and Andrew Sager contributed to this report.
– This story has been updated with additional reports and context.
