As he went to shake Trump’s hand, the president mentioned that in his experience there were “a lot of crooks” in Panama. De Dianous died in 2021 and never sought to publicize or draw attention to the moment.

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

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.

Donald Trump has refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal that was returned by the US to Panama decades ago.

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.

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