Ricaurte Vásquez denied Trump’s claims that China was controlling the canal’s operations, and said making exceptions to current rules controlling its operation would lead to “chaos.”

His fascination is nothing new.“The Panama Canal is doing quite well,” Donald Trump beamed in June 2017 during one of his earliest meetings with another world leader. “I think we did a good job building it.

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.