In the 1970s, a conservative coalition came together to fight ceding control of the Panama Canal—proving the political potency of the issue.

Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the U.S. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has in recent days repeatedly denounced what he sees as China’s outsized influence on the Panama Canal – the crucial maritime passageway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The Panama Canal has a complicated history, although we found no evidence of it being under China's control as Trump also claimed.

Over decades, a shift in US military strategy, larger carriers and the growth of commerce on the West Coast deemphasized US involvement.

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.

For weeks, Donald Trump has been stating his intention to take control of the Panama Canal, a critical 51-mile long waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The Panama Canal will remain Panamanian, the secretary general of the United Nation's maritime body told AFP on Tuesday, after Donald Trump refused to rule out using military force to

Few took the president-elect’s combative comments at face value, but they still sent a shudder through a country that the United States has invaded before.