Panama President José Raúl Mulino has rejected 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

Panama denied a claim made by the State Department on Wednesday that the Central American nation had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships to transit the country’s famous canal.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday accused the United States government of lying a day earlier when the U.S. State Department claimed that U.S. government vessels would be able to cross the country's namesake canal without paying fees.