All indications point to business, not politics, as the source of the tensions, and at any other moment, the Trump Organization and its army of lawyers might have relished this sort of pitched battle.



But the Panamanian misadventure has become the family business’s biggest headache at a time when its founder is in the White House and every move and woe is magnified across the planet. The business is also showing other signs of receding: The Trump Organization last year agreed to buyout deals that removed the Trump name from once-prized properties in New York and Toronto.

With those stresses and strains, the company is reluctant to walk away from the Panama property and possibly invite other partners to challenge their agreements, according to people close to the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Trumps also believe that the law is on their side, according to their lawyers, who argue that their management agreement prevents Mr. Fintiklis from terminating the contract without an arbitrator’s order. The contract to manage the hotel extends through 2031, and the Trumps say they want to stand behind their employees, several of whom Mr. Fintiklis has sought to fire, for the duration of the deal.

The dispute comes as the Trumps’ property — like many Panamanian hotels — is struggling.

The hotel lost over $1 million last year, according to the hotel’s confidential financial documents reviewed by The Times, after turning a gross operating profit of more than $800,000 in 2016. (The results are unaudited and may improve somewhat once they are finalized.)

Mr. Fintiklis, 39, declined to comment, but he has made several notable — and provocative — appearances at the hotel in recent days. On one evening, following a verbal confrontation with Trump employees, he and his entourage of about a dozen people retired to the lobby and had pizza delivered from a restaurant on the property. Then Mr. Fintiklis played music from “Zorba the Greek” on the lobby’s baby grand piano while his friends sang along.