U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday that “American ships, both military and commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals!” His reason is that “those canals would not exist without the United States of America.”
It is the case that the Panama Canal was largely built by the United States, although it is now the property of the nation of Panama, according to treaties signed by the United States. In the case of the Suez Canal, however, perhaps President Trump is unaware of the fact that it was not built by the United States, but by the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez, established in 1858 by the famous French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps with French and Egyptian backing. The Suez Canal was officially opened in 1869.
