Panama Canal

Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia will receive $52 million in U.S. military aid pulled from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq under a Trump administration shift.

Counter narcotics work, security for the Panama Canal, and blocking strategic rivals in the Western Hemisphere are the stated purposes, per the State Department.

AP

The USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transited the Panama Canal on August 1 with Littoral Combat Force-24 aboard, the first Marine Expeditionary Unit to make the passage since 2008.

Trump on Panama Canal:

We did a good job in Venezuela and we’re doing equally as well with the Islamic Republic of Iran. China is planning to take over the Panama Canal and we won’t let that happen

Trump:

When we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, first thing they did, they raised the prices for ships by four times, and they didn't lose one ship.

They then raised them again, and they didn't lose ships.

They made tremendous amounts of money. How stupid was that?

Trump:

The Panama Canal was the most expensive thing we ever built, and it was also the most profitable thing we ever built. That's a nice combination.

A little bit like Venezuela. We're actually doing equally as well with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Maybe you've heard of it?

Trump: "I even had a conversation with Theodore Roosevelt. I said, 'What do you think about the Panama Canal? Do you consider that your greatest achievement and how do you feel about the fact that the Democrats gave the Panama Canal away to Panama for $1?'"

President Trump asks AI President Roosevelt:

“Do you consider the Panama Canal your greatest achievement?”