CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday his selection for the position of US ambassador to Panama.
Trump named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as his pick for the job after he suggested that the United States should take control of the Panama Canal — a suggestion he first floated over the weekend while claiming that Panama was “stealing” American ships passing through it. . Through the waterway.
“I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, the country that is plundering us in the Panama Canal, beyond their wildest dreams,” Trump said in a statement. The president-elect added that Cabrera, who also worked on his presidential campaign in Florida, “will do a great job representing our nation’s interests in Panama!”
Trump on Wednesday continued to tease US territorial expansion in his social media posts, criticizing the operation of the canal and doubling down on his suggestions that the US should absorb Canada and Greenland, a region controlled by Denmark.
In his sarcastic Christmas message, Trump claimed that Chinese soldiers were running the Panama Canal, and repeated his criticism that Panama was taking advantage of American ships using the waterway.
“Merry Christmas to everyone, including the wonderful soldiers of China, who lovingly, but illegally, manage the Panama Canal (we lost 38,000 lives building it 110 years ago), and always make sure the United States invests billions of dollars in this canal.” “Dollars are repair money, but he will have absolutely nothing to say about anything,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
In the same message, Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “governor,” again suggesting that Canada should become a US state. He also noted that Greenlanders “want the United States to be there, and we will do that.”
In another post, Trump said he spoke with famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky on Wednesday about running for prime minister of Canada. Trump said Gretzky was not interested in the role but urged Canadians to rally support for Gretzky.
Trump’s apparent quest to expand US territory appears to function in part as a negotiating tactic in line with his broader goal of reshaping US trade policy. Trump’s proposal for Canada to become the 51st US state comes as he threatens to raise tariffs on the country, and his call for control of the Panama Canal was first made as a warning to reduce duties on US ships passing through the waterway.
It is unclear whether Trump’s stated interest in expanding the United States reflects his serious intentions. Trump’s transition team has previously refused to explain the precise motivations behind his recent statements and comments in public statements.
Trump’s Christmas messages on social media also included his wishes for a “Merry Christmas to the far-left lunatics” and an attack on 37 federal prisoners whose sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden on Monday from death penalty to life in prison.
He said: “I refuse to wish a happy birthday to those lucky ‘souls’, but instead, I will say: Go to hell!”
Trump said Tuesday he would direct the Justice Department to “aggressively pursue the death penalty” while criticizing Biden’s decision to remove all but three federal prisoners from death row.
