President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick for American ambassador to Panama, days after suggesting that the United States should take control of the Panama Canal.

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.

Reiterating his idea to make Canada the 51st US state, Trump charged at Trudeau and said that if it were to happen, "their taxes would be cut by more than 60 per cent, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other country anywhere in the World."