President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his pick for US ambassador to Panama. Trump named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as his choice for the post after suggesting that the US should take control of the Panama Canal – a proposal he first floated over the weekend while claiming that Panama is "ripping off" American ships that pass through the waterway. "I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams," Trump said in a statement. The president-elect added Cabrera, who also worked for his presidential campaign in Florida, "will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation's interests in Panama!" Trump on Wednesday continued to tease US territorial expansion in social media posts, criticizing the operation of the canal and doubling down on suggestions the US should absorb Canada and Greenland, a territory controlled by Denmark. In a sardonic Christmas message, Trump claimed Chinese soldiers are operating the Panama Canal and reiterated his criticism that Panama is exploiting US vessels that use the waterway. "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in 'repair' money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about 'anything,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. In the same message, Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "governor," again insinuating Canada should become a US state. He also suggested the citizens of Greenland "want the US to be there, and we will." In another post, Trump said he spoke to hockey great Wayne Gretzky on Wednesday about running for prime minister of Canada. Trump said Gretzky wasn't interested in the role but urged Canadians to rally support for Gretzky. Trump's apparent push to expand US territory seems, in part, to serve as a negotiating tactic aligned with his broader goal of reshaping US trade policy. Trump's suggestion that Canada become the 51st US state comes as he threatens to raise tariffs on the nation, and his call to take control of the Panama Canal was first presented as a warning to lower fees on American ships that travel through the waterway. It's unclear whether Trump's expressed interest in expanding the US reflect of his earnest intentions. Trump's transition team previously declined to clarify the exact motivations behind his statements and recent comments in public remarks. Trump's Christmas messages on social media also included wishing "Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics" and an attack on the 37 federal inmates whose sentences President Joe Biden on Monday commuted from death row to life in prison. "I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky 'souls' but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL!," he said. On Tuesday, Trump said he would direct his Department of Justice to "vigorously pursue the death penalty" while criticizing Biden's decision to remove all but three federal inmates from death row. — CNN
