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 denied a claim made by the State Department on Wednesday that the Central American nation had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships to transit the country’s famous canal.

The Panama Canal Authority has categorically denied assertions made by the U.S. State Department that the country had agreed to allow U.S. government vessels to transit the canal without paying tolls or fees.