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.

A key focus of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Central America this week — his first trip as America’s top diplomat — will be to counter China’s growing influence in the region, the State Department’s top spokesperson said this week,

Republicans hoping to thwart Beijing’s influence in Latin America are urging the Panamanian government to cut ties with Chinese entities.

Panama severed its diplomatic ties with Taiwan in an overt shift to bolster ties with Beijing in 2017 and joined China’s Belt and Road initiative a year later. Trump’s concerns about Beijing’s influence over the canal center on two ports, situated at ...

US President Donald Trump's threat to seize the Panama Canal over alleged undue Chinese influence may really be aimed at limiting Beijing's growing diplomatic and economic presence in Latin America, experts say. Actually using force to take the ...

Nonetheless, Trump’s bet is to not have to pursue military conquest in the Athenian way. He would rather have a complacent Panama, accepting all U.S. demands. As shown by the recent Colombia-U.S. clash over deportations, Trump’s approach seems to be “cooperate or else.”

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity in the Arctic and in Latin America.

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

But as Beijing has expanded its influence across ... without fanfare or so much as a sign, the Panama Canal. All around was deep green forest, with the rising sun slanting on to the still water.

The top US diplomat said President Donald Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland “is not a joke” because of the risk that China would station resources on the island that threaten American security and the importance of Arctic shipping lanes for energy exports.