The discrepancy comes after earlier rhetoric from President ... denies that Beijing controls the vital shipping lane. Hegseth said Wednesday the U.S. was “helping to take back the Panama Canal ...

According to Hegseth, a broader framework is also in the works, one that would guarantee U.S. warships "first and free" passage through the Panama Canal ... And as President Donald Trump has ...

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino (C) looks on as Panama's Security Minister Frank Abrego (L) and US Secretary of Defense ... sovereignty over the national canal, amid President Donald Trump ...

But Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino asserted the canal “is, and will continue to be, Panamanian,” as it has been since 1999. Hegseth’s visit to the country included a meeting with ...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Panama ... S. national security interests under President Trump’s leadership, to include ensuring unfettered access to the Panama Canal and keeping ...

“President Trump has made it clear that the Panama Canal ... S. more than a century ago, a top priority for its Western Hemisphere policy, warning that Beijing had increased its influence in the ...

Panama said on Wednesday the United States recognized its sovereignty over the Panama Canal, despite tough rhetoric from Washington, as the two nations announced agreements to deepen U.S. military ...

Trump has gone so far as to suggest the US never should have turned the canal over to Panama and that maybe that it should take the canal back. Read more‘Trump is lying’: Panama’s president ...

addressing President Trump's concerns about Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. While stopping short of permanent US bases, the deal allows for the deployment of US personnel, sparking both ...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said the U.S. will take back the Panama Canal from "China’s influence" as Washington tries to reassert control over the major trade route.

In March, US investment giant BlackRock announced a $22.8 billion deal to buy 43 ports, including two located on either side of the Panama Canal, from CK Hutchison, the Hong Kong logistics company ...

PANAMA CITY — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said April 8 the Panama Canal faces ongoing threats from China, but together the U.S. and Panama will keep it secure. Speaking at a ribbon ...