Panama has vehemently denied claims made by the US on Thursday that its government vessels would have free passage through the Panama Canal, calling the US claims “lies and falsehoods”.

President Trump says the canal authority is overcharging. Recent increases are attributed in part to drought, maintenance investments and demand.

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."

The United States said Wednesday that its government vessels would be allowed to sail for free through the Panama Canal, following heavy pressure from President Donald Trump.

President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied a claim by the Trump administration that this Central American country had agreed to eliminate tolls for U.S. government ships using the Panama Canal, in an apparent setback to U.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday rejected U.S. claims that American warships and boats can transit the Panama Canal without paying a standard fee. In a weekly news conference, Mulino disputed a statement from the State Department on free transit after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Panama earlier this week.

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.

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.