In recent weeks, when he was President-elect Donald Trump publicly said that Panama should return the Panama Canal to the United States, and he would not rule out using military force to reclaim it. At his presidential Inauguration on Monday Trump doubled down on saying that his new administration was going to take back the canal.

The neutrality of the nearly 50-mile canal, through which nearly 15,000 ships transit each year, is enshrined in Panama’s Constitution and is enforced by the autonomous Panama Canal Authority.

The new Panamanian ambassador was given strict instructions as he prepared to meet then-President Donald Trump one day in 2019: Do not engage him in any substantive discussion of critical issues.

Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as secretary of State. The visit comes as Donald Trump looks to reclaim Panama's canal.

Panama has owned and administered the Panama Canal for nearly three decades. President Trump wants to change that to counter growing Chinese influence in Latin America.

The canal was administered by America until 1977, when treaties were signed under then-US president Jimmy Carter for its handover to Panama. Photo: ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP/File US President Donald Trump's threat to seize the Panama Canal over alleged undue ...

UNT Dallas political science professor outlines the implications of Trump’s threat to the Panama Canal. Trump’s suggestion that China controls the

President Trump used his inauguration speech to double down on threats toward Panama. It revealed a much broader shift in vision for U.S. foreign policy. The post The World Isn't Ready for Trump's Expansionist Foreign Policy appeared first on World Politics Review.

President Donald Trump cannot take the Panama Canal — at least not legally — as he would be violating every single treaty that the U.S. has come into with Panama since 1945, international law and national security experts told WLRN.

A military operation against a tiny neighbor would destroy US credibility in Latin America and provide a boost for China and Russia. Plus, the Panamanians would likely put up a good fight.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will likely travel to Central America in the first week of February, a source familiar with the planning said.