Panama turned its canal into a money-maker. History shows why Trump’s threats are sounding the alarm bells
CNN
More than 100 years after the construction of the engineering marvel that linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans — and 25 years after the canal was returned to Panama by the US — the Panama Canal faces renewed intimidation from US President Donald Trump.
Born from “gunboat diplomacy,” the Panama Canal is under threat from US saber rattling once again. More than 100 years after the construction of the engineering marvel that linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans – and 25 years after the canal was returned to Panama by the US – the waterway faces renewed intimidation from an American president. US President Donald Trump in his inaugural address on Monday vowed to wrest the canal back. “We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made and Panama’s promise to us been broken,” Trump said, claiming that Panama overcharges the US Navy to transit the canal. “Above all China is operating the Panama Canal,” Trump also said, a frequent claim he has made without providing any evidence. “And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama and we are taking it back!” Panamanian officials have scoffed at Trump’s latest claims that the country charges too much for ships to transit the canal or that China secretly has taken control of the waterway. Still, his threats are not taken idly by Panamanians who consider the canal to be central to their national identity and depend on lucrative canal traffic. In 2024, the canal earned nearly $5 billion in total profits. According to a study released in December by IDB Invest, 23.6% of Panama’s annual income is generated from the canal and companies that provide services related to the canal’s operations.
A suspect has been arrested after a fire tore through Beth Israel, the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday, leaving the congregation forced to rebuild from the ashes — again.
The Smithsonian has taken down details about President Donald Trump’s impeachments from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery,
President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following deadly protests in the country, two US officials told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the country should they use lethal force against the Iranian people.
Nationwide outcry over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent spilled into the streets of cities across the US on Saturday, with protesters demanding the removal of federal immigration authorities from their communities and justice for the slain Renee Good.
Since early December the US Coast Guard and other military branches have boarded and taken control of five oil ships that had previously been sanctioned, all either accused of being in the process of transporting Venezuelan oil or on their way to take on oil that has been subject to US sanctions since President Donald Trump began a pressure campaign against the leadership of the country during his first term.
This high school sophomore is aiming for a Supreme Court upset in transgender sports case
A Virginia man accused of plotting with his family’s au pair to kill his wife and another man, who had been lured to the home via a sexual fetish website, is set to face trial this week.
Miami’s exile politics forged Marco Rubio’s worldview. Now they’re shaping Trump’s foreign policy.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute said the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked, following remarks by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado suggesting she might give her 2025 award to US President Donald Trump.
In every city where President Donald Trump’s immigration agents have arrived in force, they’ve been trailed by people who seek to monitor or protest their activities, often in close quarters.
A lot of questions remain following the unprecedented US attack in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro. For Venezuelans, both inside the country and abroad, it’s been a mix of emotions and a sense of uncertainty over what comes next.
Two months ago, President Donald Trump and his allies ridiculed Trump’s opponents for their massive “No Kings” rallies. They cast it as melodramatic to compare Trump’s actions and aims to a king.
A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be received by Election Day.