President Donald Trump has been outspoken for months about his desire for the U.S. to retake control of the Panama Canal due to the perceived unfair treatment of U.S. vessels from Panamanian authorities and the increased Chinese influence over the Western Hemisphere's most vital and strategic waterway.

A major step toward that goal may have just been achieved as the State Department announced a deal to allow U.S. government vessels to transit the Canal without paying a fee, according to Breitbart.

However, that claim has since been disputed by the Panama Canal Authority, which insisted that no changes were made to the fees it normally charges for any vessels to move through the Central American waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

U.S. claims free travel through Panama Canal

On Wednesday, the State Department claimed in an X post, "U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars a year."

An attached photo of a ship transiting the Canal reiterated the claim that "The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal," and added, "This saves the U.S. government millions of dollars a year."

U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars a year. pic.twitter.com/G4gV2mHu7O

— Department of State (@StateDept) February 6, 2025

However, a corrective community note attached to the State Department's post asserted that "The Panama Canal Authority has denied this claim," and included a link to an X post in Spanish from the Panamanian government agency.

Panama disputes claimed agreement

Axios reported that just a few hours after the State Department claimed that U.S. government vessels could now transit the Panama Canal for free, that claim was rebutted by the Panama Canal Authority.

Its statement read, in part, "In response to a publication released by the United States Department of State, the Panama Canal Authority, which is authorized to set tolls and other fees for transiting the Canal, reports that it has not made any adjustments to them."

The media outlet noted that neither the State Department nor the Panamanian government responded to requests for comments to clarify the dispute.

This comes as Panama has on the one hand been publicly defiant against President Trump's talk of retaking control of the U.S.-built Canal but on the other has made several concessions to appease U.S. concerns.

Those include a Defense Department-announced agreement on expanded cooperation between the U.S. military and Panama's security forces as well as a State Department-announced agreement to audit Chinese control and influence over the Canal's ports and a reduction of Panama's economic ties with the communist regime.

Sec. Rubio leading the way in Panama

Forbes reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Panama over the weekend and spoke directly with that nation's president about U.S. concerns about being overcharged to use the Canal and increased Chinese influence over the strategic waterway.

In an interview after that meeting, Rubio said, "My hope ultimately is that we can get back to a point where that canal is what it was meant to be, which is a place for the United States and Panama working in partnership … and that no foreign power through their companies or any other means has the ability to use it against us in a time of conflict and impede travel through it, because it would be devastating."