Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang discusses China's influence in Latin America and tensions between them and the United States over the Panama Canal.

President Donald Trump has made repeated claims that China “operates” the Panama Canal in recent weeks and has threatened to take back the waterway to block what he sees as Beijing’s increasing influence.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s ...

Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the country of relinquishing control of the Panama Canal to China. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Beijing officials deny the claims.

The Trump administration threatening partners in the Americas may prove to be short-term tactical approach but it will not prove to be a viable long-term strategy for engaging economically with the region.

Prior to the origination of the plans for the Panama Canal vessels of trade had few options of getting goods from Europe and Asia to N. America.

Fox Nation's "Showdown at the Panama Canal" explores the history of the vital strategic waterway and the current high-stakes battle to reclaim control.

Panama and China have hit back at American claims about Beijing's influence over the Panama Canal, saying they were "lies". US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants the US to regain control of the canal and this week US Southern Command head Alvin Holsey visited the Central American nation to step up the pressure.

Since returning to office, President Trump has made repeated claims that China operates the Panama Canal and threatened to take it back from the Panama Canal Authority, which has controlled it since 1999.

Construction on the project, which includes a dam, is slated to begin in 2027 and take four years to complete.

Hundreds of migrants, many from the Middle East and China, are in custody in Panama after they were deported from the U.S. as part of an agreement between the two nations. Held in a hotel in Panama City,

It accused the U.S. government of trying to “sabotage” relations between China and Panama, but said its efforts will fail. Mulino waded into the dispute Thursday morning at his weekly press ...