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.

After President Jimmy Carter's death at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump argued that one of Carter's biggest mistakes was giving the Panama Canal to Panama back in 1977.

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

President-elect Donald Trump’s threats over the Panama Canal may be rooted in his decades-long views of the country, forged by his own attempts to do business there. CNN’s Phil Mattingly reports.

Panama's leaders and even some of Donald Trump's allies are still scratching their heads over his threats to reclaim control over the Panama Canal, but he has apparently been seething over the issue since hosting a Miss Universe pageant in that country two decades ago.

Analysts believe takeover comments could be aimed at getting lower fees, but they could also push Panama to embrace China

Donald Trump’s threat to forcibly retake the Panama Canal would target a waterway that generates $2.5 billion in annual revenue for Panama and handles 5% of global maritime trade, raising alarm about potential disruption to international commerce.