Donald Trump tweeted threats against the country of Panama over the weekend, suggesting in Truth Social posts that he would seize control of the Panama Canal if his demands were not met. The president-elect even included an AI-generated image of an American flag in the middle of the Canal, making it the second time Trump has threatened an ally with AI images after he created the similar threat against Canada.

“Welcome to the United States Canal!” Trump wrote Sundayin a message that appeared on several social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook.

The posts include an image that, at first glance, is not clearly AI-generated. But the bottom right corner includes the word Grok, the generative AI tool developed by X that is both a chatbot and allows people to create images with text prompts. The Grok watermark has been cut on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

It was not immediately clear where Trump or his social media team found the image, but the president-elect has been known to spread disturbing images found on Twitter, especially if they are hateful and racist. . Trump posted images of AI on cats and dogs in September when he helped spread the lie that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating domestic animals.

Trump first suggested that he would try to take ownership of the Panama Canal a day earlier in a message spread across two Truth Social posts on Saturday.

“The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role in America’s Economy and National Security,” Trump wrote. “A secure Panama Canal is essential for US Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times at US ports.”

The posts then go on to argue why the US should have control over the Panama Canal, as it did in the early 20th century. France began the project in the 1880s, but stalled until the US took over in 1904 and completed construction of the canal a decade later. President Jimmy Carter signed an agreement in the 1970s to give control of the Canal back to Panama but Trump wants to revoke that.

“The fees charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially considering the extraordinary generosity that Panama has given to the US,” Trump WRITES. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country must stop immediately.”

Trump went on to say that unless concessions were made, the US would “demand” control of the Canal, which would be a threat to war with a foreign ally.

“The United States has an interest in the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that has always been understood. We will and will never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!” Trump WRITES.

“It is not given for the benefit of others, but only as a sign of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, moral and legal, of this great act of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us , absolutely, and without question. To the Officials of Panama, please guide accordingly!” Trump continued.

Panama’s president is clearly taking Trump’s threats seriously, defending his country’s territorial integrity in a video posted by X.

“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the adjacent zones is part of Panama, and it will continue to be,” President José Raúl Mulino said on Sunday, according to an English-language translation by Bloomberg.

🇵🇦 Message from President José Raúl Mulino 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/DMXU8qAuNT

— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) December 22, 2024

Trump responded to Mulino with more nonsense at an event called AmericaFest, organized by the far-right political organization Turning Point USA.

“Has anyone heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said. “Because we’ve been ripped off in the Panama Canal just like we’ve been ripped off everywhere else.”

Trump echoed statements he had already made on social media in his live speech.

“If the principles, moral and legal, of this great act of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, completely, quickly and without question,” Trump said, according to CBC.

After the speech, Trump wrote Social Truth “we will see about that” in response to President Mulino’s message, explaining that he will be as antagonistic as possible.

This isn’t the first time Trump has used AI-generated imagery to threaten a foreign country with an invasion. The billionaire dipshit previously posted an AI-image of himself standing on a mountain with an American flag and Europe’s Matterhorn in the distance. It appears that the image is supposed to symbolize Trump’s conquest of Canada, although the image clearly represents natural formations in Europe.

Trump also included a threat against Greenland on Sunday in an announcement that he was making Ken Howery ambassador to Denmark.

“For the purposes of National Security and Freedom around the World, the United States of America feels that possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump WRITES. “Ken will do an excellent job representing the interests of the United States.”

Some commentators insist that Trump’s threats against foreign countries are just trolling or a “joke,” but they seem to be in complete denial of what the country is actually facing in the coming months and years. We will know soon if Trump will try to take any measures against allied countries. It’s a whole new world. And no one knows what lies ahead with any certainty.