Days after expressing his intention to take back the Panama Canal, US President-elect Donald Trump named Florida County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as the Ambassador to Panama. Cabrera served as the District 6 commissioner of Miami-Dade County and has been the Vice Chairman of its International Trade Consortium.
He has actively worked for the Trump campaign in 2020 and 2024 and won the President-elect’s endorsement when he ran for vice chairman of the Florida Republican Party. During Trump’s latest bid to the White House, Cabrera served as Florida’s representative to the Republican National Committee platform committee.
“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Christmas Day. “He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!” he added. Earlier this month, the president-elect said that the United States could take back control over the Panama Canal, complaining about the “ridiculous” cost of shipping through the passageway.
Trump’s eyes on the Panama Canal
Even while announcing Cabrera’s nomination, Trump accused Panama of “ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams.” The Panama Canal is an artificial water passageway which stretches about 50 miles and connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through the country.
It is touted as a vital link in global shipping since it saves thousands of miles and weeks of travel around the tip of South America. It is pertinent to note that the United States had control over the canal when it was first built in 1914. However, the control lasted until 1979, when former President Jimmy Carter passed control to the Panama Canal Commission, a joint agency of the two countries. The complete control of the Canal was passed to Panama only in 1999.
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