CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice as U.S. ambassador to Panama on Wednesday.

Trump named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as his nominee for the post after suggesting that the U.S. take control of the Panama Canal – a suggestion he first floated over the weekend when he claimed that Panama is “ripping off” passing American ships. through the waterway.

“I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a country that is ripping us off at the Panama Canal far beyond its wildest dreams,” Trump said in a statement. The president-elect added that Cabrera, who also worked for his presidential campaign in Florida, “will do a FANTASTIC job representing our nation’s interests in Panama!”

Trump continued to provoke U.S. territorial expansion in social media posts on Wednesday, criticizing the canal’s operations and doubling down on suggestions that the U.S. should take over Canada and Greenland, a territory controlled by Denmark.

In a sardonic Christmas message, Trump claimed Chinese soldiers were running the Panama Canal and reiterated his criticism that Panama is taking advantage of U.S. ships using the waterway.

“Merry Christmas to everyone, including the wonderful soldiers of China who lovingly but illegally operate the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people during its construction 110 years ago) and always ensure that the United States invests billions of dollars.” “Dollars of ‘repair’ money, but they will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything,'” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

In the same message, Trump referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor,” again insinuating that Canada should become a U.S. federal state. He also suggested that the citizens of Greenland “want the U.S. there, and so will we.”

In another post, Trump said he spoke with hockey star Wayne Gretzky on Wednesday about running for Canadian prime minister. Trump said Gretzky was not interested in the role but urged Canadians to rally support for Gretzky.

Trump’s apparent push to expand U.S. territory appears to be in part a negotiating tactic consistent with his broader goal of reshaping U.S. trade policy. Trump’s proposal to make Canada the 51st US state comes with a threat to raise tariffs on the country, and his demand to take control of the Panama Canal was initially seen as a warning about lower fees on American ships, that sail through the waterway.

It is unclear whether Trump’s expressed interest in U.S. expansion reflects his serious intentions. Trump’s transition team has so far declined to clarify the exact motivations behind his statements and recent comments in public statements.

Trump’s Christmas messages on social media also included wishes of “Merry Christmas to the radical left-wing lunatics” and an attack on the 37 federal inmates whose sentences President Joe Biden commuted from death row to life in prison on Monday.

“I refuse to wish these lucky ‘souls’ a Merry Christmas and will instead say: GO TO HELL!” he said.

On Tuesday, Trump said he would direct his Justice Department to “vigorously pursue the death penalty,” while criticizing Biden’s decision to remove all but three federal inmates from death row.