Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied 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. Mulino said he had told U.

Panama denied a claim made by the State Department on Wednesday that the Central American nation had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships to transit the country’s famous canal.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday the United States was spreading "lies and falsehoods" after the State Department claimed U.S. government vessels would be able to pass the Panama Canal without paying.

The Panamanian leader says he was “incredibly surprised” by the statement, as President Trump threatens a U.S. takeover of the strategic waterway.

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."

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said on social media on Thursday that he would speak to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at 3:30pm on Friday afternoon, amid an increasingly tense standoff over the Panama Canal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is arguing that the presence of two Hong Kong companies and other Chinese firms violates a treaty Panama has with the United States.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday accused the United States government of lying a day earlier when the U.S. State Department claimed that U.S. government vessels would be able to cross the country's namesake canal without paying fees.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino has accused the US of spreading "lies and falsehoods" after the US State Department claimed American government vessels were no longer required to pay a fee to transit through the Panama Canal.

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