Panama Canal to continue authorizing vessels coming from Venezuela

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The Panama Canal will continue authorizing vessels coming from Venezuela provided they stick to the rules and present the necessary paperwork, the waterway's chief said on Wednesday after a new round of U.S. sanctions on the South American country.

"We are signatories to a treaty of neutrality, also signed by the United States", Panama Canal Authority chief Jorge Quijano told reporters, saying the canal would not submit to pressure. "We have to continue with that commitment as long as they follow the rules of the game, and the rules of the game are that it's an innocent passage."

(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Dave Graham)