U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted his claim that Panama would allow American ships to use its canal for free is not true. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State said Panama’s government had “agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said it was "absurd" that U.S. government ships are charged to use the Panama Canal after Panama denied a claim that it had agreed to allow them free traversal.

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