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.

Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as secretary of State. The visit comes as Donald Trump looks to reclaim Panama's canal.

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

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

They say they fought too hard to wrest it from the U.S. to now hand back the waterway, which is part of the nation’s identity.