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🇵🇦 Panama /Elections & Politics

Adolfo Ahumada: With the treaties, the Canal Zone “disappeared immediately”

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Adolfo Ahumada said the former Panama Canal Zone’s political and administrative structure disappeared when the Torrijos-Carter Treaties took effect, although control of the canal transferred to Panama 23 years later.
  • He recalled that negotiations nearly collapsed after the United States proposed giving it unilateral authority to expand the canal through 2050, a demand Panama rejected.
  • Ahumada said Panama would not have signed the agreements if the United States had retained the Canal Zone.

For Adolfo Ahumada, the most immediate result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties was not the eventual transfer of the Panama Canal, but the disappearance of the Canal Zone itself. “The Canal Zone did disappear and collapsed immediately,” he said, recalling the agreements signed 49 years ago.

The transfer of canal administration to Panama took 23 years. US military facilities also closed progressively, with the process ending on December 31, 1999. But Ahumada said the political and administrative structure of the Canal Zone ended as soon as the treaties entered into force, including the office of governor, whose holder had been appointed by the US president.

The Canal Zone did disappear and collapsed immediately, including the office of governor, who was appointed by the president of the United States.

· Adolfo AhumadaHe described the immediate effect of the treaties on the Canal Zone’s political and administrative structure.

He described that point as decisive in the negotiations. “That was the key factor in the negotiation. Without that, Panama was not going to sign anything, and we would not be here,” Ahumada said.

That was the key factor in the negotiation. Without that, Panama was not going to sign anything, and we would not be here.

· Adolfo AhumadaHe explained why ending the Canal Zone was essential for Panama’s agreement.

The negotiations came close to failing on at least two occasions, he recalled. One occurred on September 5, two days before the treaties were signed, during a meeting in Bogotá attended by the leaders of Colombia, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Venezuela, as the final points of the Canal Treaty were being settled.

According to Ahumada, the United States then presented a final proposal: Panama would have to authorize Washington to expand the canal unilaterally through 2050. US senators, the proposal warned, would not ratify the treaties unless Panama accepted. The Panamanian delegation immediately rejected the demand and considered that it could bring the entire process down.

There was a final proposal from the United States that the American negotiators and senators would not ratify unless Panama authorized the United States to expand the Panama Canal unilaterally, with that power lasting until 2050.

· Adolfo AhumadaHe recalled the US demand that nearly caused the negotiations to fail.
About this summary

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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