It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal may be posturing, but it could dampen the Panamanian government’s wish to broaden relations with the United States, analysts say.
Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.
Few took the president-elect’s combative comments at face value, but they still sent a shudder through a country that has been invaded by the United States before.
To return the canal to Panama, President Jimmy Carter worked to change minds and build a bipartisan coalition that put aside short-term political considerations.
The president-elect inaccurately said that Chinese soldiers operate the Panama Canal. But China’s strategic positions in shipping worry Washington officials.