Trump wants the U.S. to win control

The Panama Canal, the maritime artery connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is the result of a long, costly and controversial construction process. Donald Trump posted on social media on Monday evening criticizing Panama for charging too high fees for using the Panama Canal for U.S. naval and commercial vessels.
The president-elect warned that Washington could reclaim control of the Panama Canal, a rare time when a U.S. leader has left open the possibility of forcing a sovereign country to hand over territory.



The move raises long-standing tensions over the Panama Canal, an important lifeblood of international navigation. This is a strategically located project, helping to "revolutionize" the shipping industry because it shortens more than 12,800 km in the distance between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, equivalent to 22 travel days.

The Panama Canal is 82 kilometers long, consisting of many "gates" and reserve lakes. The ships will move through Gatun Lake, which is 26 meters above sea level. Each ship will need 200 million liters of water pumped from the reservoir into the canal to cross the ocean. The canal helps American businesses save significant time and fuel, allowing for faster transportation, especially for sensitive, critical goods.

The idea of a canal across Panama in Central America is believed to have been around since the 1530s, when Spanish colonists colonized the region. By 1878, Colombia, which was then under control and considered Panama a province, signed an agreement with France to start the project.

The French canal construction project went bankrupt in 1899, after 9 years of implementation due to lack of capital and excessive loss of life. 22,000 workers involved in digging canals have died, mainly due to occupational accidents and tropical diseases.

In 1903, the United States proposed to continue the project but was rejected by Colombia. Then-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt responded by deploying warships close to Panama from both sides of the ocean, expressing support for the Separatist Junta movement initiated by some Panamanian landowners under the leadership of Manuel Amador Guerrero to secede from Colombia.

The United States also prepared a draft constitution for Panama to promulgate as soon as it gained independence from Colombia, giving the United States "the right to intervene anywhere in Panama to establish peace and order

Panamanians protest, say Trump is illusory of power

A group of Panamanians protested against Trump's threat by the US president-elect to "reclaim" the Panama Canal.


According to AFP news agency, protesters burned Trump's image in front of the US Embassy in Panama on December 24, while chanting slogans such as "Trump, stay away from our canal" or "Donald Trump, the enemy of Panama". "The Panamanian people have proven that they are capable of regaining their territory, and we will never make concessions again," Jorge Guzman, a protester, told AFP.