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.

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.

Often called one of the seven modern wonders of the world, the Panama Canal splits the continents of North and South America ...

Explore the complexities behind Donald Trump's claim about China's control over the Panama Canal and its geopolitical ...

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