The U.S. helped Panama secede from Colombia in 1903 to build the passage that now carries more than 10,000 ships a year.

President-elect Donald Trump ran on a platform of isolating the US from foreign conflicts like the Ukraine war, increasing tariffs on foreign trade partners, and rebuilding domestic manufacturing. But in recent days he has suggested a more outwardly aggressive approach for his foreign policy.

President-elect Donald Trump is decrying the increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.