Conservative President José Raúl Mulino wanted to work with Trump from day one. He’s now trying to stop a U.S. takeover of the Panama Canal.

Panama's president says the State Department's claim of an agreement granting U.S. warships free canal passage was "based on a falsity. And that's intolerable."

PANAMA CITY — President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied a claim by the Trump administration that the Central American country had agreed to eliminate tolls for U.S. government ships using the Panama Canal, in an apparent setback to U.S. diplomatic efforts.

President Jose Raul Mulino denied that his government had granted free passage for American government ships through the Panama Canal in response to Donald Trump’s threats to reclaim the waterway, accusing the US of “lies and falsehoods.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino has rejected the U.S. State Department’s claim that his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free.