US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has walked back the assertion of the State Department that Panama “has agreed to no longer charge fees” to US government vessels transiting the Panama Canal after outcry from the Panamanian government.

Santo Domingo.- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it “absurd” that U.S. Navy ships must pay to cross the Panama Canal after Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino denied an agreement for free passage.

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.