Panama Canal Doubling Fees for US Warships? Not Actually

In late December 2024, a rumor was circulating online that Panama doubled fees for U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal and started dedicating the additional funding toward women's reproductive health care.

The claim featured a quote allegedly attributed to Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, reading: "In our country, we have an 'a-hole tax' that kicks in automatically whenever anyone with orange skin threatens us. [...] When they sincerely apologize, the rate goes back to normal."

Examples of the claim appeared on X (archived), Facebook (archived) and Threads (archived).

 

View on Threads

There was no evidence of the alleged price increase, Mulino saying or writing the in-question quote (neither in English or Spanish), nor any ship fees being used to fund women's reproductive health care. According to the Panama Canal Authority, the canal's governing body, tariffs have not changed since January 2024. 

In reality, the claim — including the purported quote by Mulino — originated (archived) with a social media user on X and Instagram who describes their accounts as both "parody" and "half parody, half commentary, half theories." Therefore, this claim originated as satire.

The original posts read:

BREAKING: Panama Doubles Fees For U.S. Warships Transiting Canal

"In our country, we have an 'a-hole tax' that kicks in automatically whenever anyone with orange skin threatens us," said President  José Raúl Mulino Quintero. "When they sincerely apologize, the rate goes back to normal."

The funds from the extra fees are used to fund women's reproductive health care.

Additionally, an image that appeared alongside the posts was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) software, according to an AI engine that converts text to images, Stable Diffusion.

The satirical claim surfaced shortly after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump posted about America's "vested interest" in the Panama Canal on Truth Social on Dec. 21, 2024:

…. The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that was always understood. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands! It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question. To the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!

Trump repeated the threat the following day, Dec. 22, at an event hosted by Turning Point, a conservative political advocacy group.

Also on Dec. 22, Mulino issued a statement (archived) referencing the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 that ceded control of the canal to Panama and reiterated Panamanian authority over the waterway.

The satirical claim about alleged fee hikes on U.S. warships wasn't the only fictional rumor to surface in light of Trump's remarks. Snopes also addressed the fictional rumor that U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert said Egypt owns the Panama Canal.