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

Panama's president says the State Department's claim of an agreement granting U.S. warships free canal passage was "based on a falsity. And that's intolerable."

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday the United States was spreading "lies and falsehoods" after the State Department claimed U.S. government vessels would be able to pass the Panama Canal without paying.