The Panama Canal Authority put out its own terse statement saying it had “not made any adjustments” to the fees.

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.

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."