President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he might seek to reclaim the Panama Canal in a warning shot aimed at the Panamanian government over new charges for its use.

In a pair of lengthy statements on Truth Social, Trump implied the vital waterway risked falling into “the wrong hands” and also blasted former President Jimmy Carter for agreeing to cede the canal in a 1978 treaty the US honored more than two decades ago. Trump wrote:

The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that was always understood. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands! It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question. To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!