On a sunny day last week, a group of American teen-agers marched up and raised a U.S. flag over their high school at Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone. It seemed an everyday thing to do. But in the ...

That same year, China acquired the management contract of Margarita Island of the Colon Free Trade Zone on the Atlantic side of the Canal. This deal established the Panama-Colón Container Port (PCCP) ...

which could allow the US to retake the canal zone by force. A cargo ship sails through the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024 AFP via Getty Images The ...

The U.S., meanwhile, controlled a roughly 10-mile zone centered on the canal’s center line but excluding both Panama City and Colon, the country’s two largest cities and, respectively ...

A cargo ship makes its way through the Port of Balboa near Panama City on March 13, 2025. It’s one of two ports run by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, which recently struck a deal to sell its lease to U ...

US President-elect Donald Trump has raised concerns about China's expanding influence in the Panama Canal region, criticizing high fees and suggesting a return to US control. Panama's President ...