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.

In his inaugural speech, President Donald Trump repeated his plan to regain control of the Panama Canal. Can he?

President Trump’s push to take back control of the strategic waterway stokes memories of a period of U.S. imperial ambition and violence.

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.

In his inaugural address, US President Donald Trump promised to "take back" the "foolish gift" from the United States that was the Panama Canal. But was it in fact a gift? And does China really control it as he claims?

During Monday’s inauguration, Donald Trump repeated his threat to retake the Panama Canal. The United States controlled the waterway since the early 20th century, but in 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed a landmark treaty to give Panama control of the canal.

The U.S. does not have any authority over the Panama Canal. The waterway ... control until treaties signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter set terms for its eventual transfer to Panama.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first official trip abroad next week to Central America, including a stop in Panama, which President Donald Trump has riled with talk of trying to reclaim the Panama Canal.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump came out swinging in a combative inaugural speech in which he affirmed plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico and regain control of the Panama Canal.

The answer is simple: there is no greater or more idealistic symbol of U.S. power in the world than the Panama Canal. As Trump seeks a way to enhance the country's power in the world, leaning on imagery regarding the Panama Canal provides just the right message.