The United States gained the right to construct the artificial waterway in 1903 after backing Panama’s bid to break away from Colombia, and the canal officially opened to traffic in 1914. The United States owned and operated the canal until 1977, when Carter negotiated the canal treaties amid Panama City’s growing demands for sovereignty and Carter’s desire for better relations with Latin America. The Torrijos-Carter Treaties established joint U.S.-Panamanian authority over the canal until 1999, at which point the United States relinquished full control of the canal to the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous government agency of Panama.
However, the transfer of ownership was controversial. Some lawmakers staunchly opposed relinquishing U.S. control, saying the decision diminished U.S. influence in the region. In his 1976 campaign to become the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan argued that the United States was the “rightful owner” of the canal. Additionally, many policymakers saw the canal as essential for ensuring uninterrupted access to global shipping routes and believed maintaining control was necessary to safeguard U.S. economic interests abroad.
Under the treaties, the United States has the right to act if there’s a military threat to the canal’s neutrality, but that doesn’t enable Washington to unilaterally reassume ownership—and experts say doing so would violate international law. Today, many experts see the treaties as having heralded a new era of U.S.-Latin America relations.
