CK Hutchison said the Panamanian government has “administrative and operational control” of the two ports on the canal.
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Published February 24, 2026
The Panamanian government has taken control of two ports at either end of the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong conglomerate following a recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court.
Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison said on Tuesday that the Panamanian government had “direct physical access to the Balboa and Cristobal terminals” and assumed “administrative and operational control” over the two Panama Canal ports.
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The company said the “illegal” acquisition reflected the culmination of a campaign by the Panamanian state against its subsidiary Panama Ports following last month’s Supreme Court ruling.
According to the Associated Press, the decree gives the Panama Maritime Authority the power to seize ports “for reasons of urgent social interest.”
According to the decree, maritime authorities also have the right to seize port assets such as computer systems and cranes.
The state takeover is the latest development in a year-long saga for C.K. Hutchison, which has been embroiled in a three-way battle between China, the United States and Panama since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.
Starting in December 2024, President Trump began claiming that the Panama Canal was operated by China and vowed to “take it back” if necessary, using military force, as part of a larger effort to reassert U.S. primacy over the Western Hemisphere.
Last month, Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that CK Hutchison’s concession to operate the two ports was “unconstitutional,” even though the concession was renewed for another 25 years in 2021.
Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) weighed in on the controversy, describing the ruling as “absurd” and “shameful”, but warning that the Latin American country would pay “a heavy political and economic price”.
In response, Panama’s President José Raul Mulino “strongly” rejected the Chinese threat to his country, saying Panama is a country that upholds the rule of law and “respects the decisions of the judiciary, which is independent of the central government.”
