Panama Celebrates 25 Years of Sovereignty Over Its Canal
Students raise the Panamanian flag in the Canal Zone, January 9, 1964. X/ @a06591602
December 31, 2024 Hour: 9:40 am
The 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties ensure that the U.S. will never interfere with Panama’s sovereignty.
The Panama Canal stands as the greatest symbol of the Panamanian people’s generational struggle for national sovereignty, as President Jose Raul Mulino reminded the public.
RELATED:
ALBA-TCP Rejects Threats from Donald Trump on the Panama Canal
Now, as it marks the 25th anniversary of its transfer from the U.S. to the Panamanian state, it faces a new challenge: the threat from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested demanding its “return.”
This Tuesday marks 25 years since December 31, 1999, when the United States handed over the administration of the canal to Panamanian authorities. This historic milestone also coincided with the departure of U.S. troops from the former “Canal Zone,” a 1,500-square-kilometer protectorate, after nearly 100 years of presence in the region.
Since then, the Panama Canal has not only been a cornerstone of Panama’s economy but also a symbol of the historical struggle throughout the 20th century to reclaim sovereignty—a particularly sensitive topic in Panamanian society.
How Was the Canal Built?
Attempts to create an interoceanic canal date back to the 16th century when King Charles I of Spain ordered the first topographic studies for constructing a route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
In the late 19th century, the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had successfully built the Suez Canal, attempted to construct “the French canal” in Panama but failed. Disease and the harsh tropical conditions claimed the lives of 22,000 people, ultimately halting the ambitious project.
After the French failure, the U.S. began construction on the interoceanic route in 1904—one year after Panama’s separation from Colombia—following the ratification of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. This treaty granted the U.S. “perpetual rights to the canal and its surrounding zone… over which it would exercise its own sovereignty.”
The canal was inaugurated on August 15, 1914, with the passage of the steamship Ancon, although this news was overshadowed by the outbreak of World War I in Europe. The U.S. had completed what became the most important engineering feat of the 20th century: an 80-kilometer route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, drastically reducing navigation time for vessels and boosting global maritime trade.
The Torrijos-Carter Treaties: Key to the Canal’s Transfer
General Omar Torrijos (1929–1981), one of the leaders of the 1968 military coup in Panama against then-President Arnulfo Arias and head of state until his death in a plane crash in 1981, had a clear objective: securing Panamanian sovereignty over the canal.
During his leadership, the United States managed the interoceanic route, though tensions arose due to growing Panamanian sentiment for sovereignty, fueled by Torrijos’s nationalist ideals.
On January 9, 1964, 21 students were killed by U.S. forces as they attempted to raise the Panamanian flag in the then Canal Zone. This event became a turning point in Panama’s long generational struggle to regain sovereignty over the canal.
After years of negotiations, in 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Torrijos signed the “Torrijos-Carter Treaties” at the Organization of American States headquarters. These agreements detailed the canal’s transfer to Panama and set December 31, 1999, as the end date for U.S. military presence in the area.
Carter, remembered fondly by Panamanians for his role in restoring sovereignty over the canal, passed away on Sunday, December 29, at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
President Mulino mourned Carter’s death, stating that “his tenure in the White House marked complex times that were crucial for Panama in negotiating and finalizing the Torrijos-Carter Treaties in 1977, which enabled the canal’s transfer to Panamanian hands and secured our nation’s full sovereignty.”
Trump’s Threats to Panamanian Sovereignty
This December, Trump threatened to demand the canal’s return to the U.S. unless transit fees for vessels were reduced. At the same time, he reiterated concerns over alleged Chinese interference (China is the canal’s second-largest user), a claim he has made previously.
His remarks were widely condemned in Panama, which also received support from international leaders. President Mulino emphasized that the canal “is Panamanian and will remain so,” calling it “a part of our history of struggle and an irreversible achievement.”
In this context, Aristides Royo, former Panamanian president (1978–1982) and a negotiator of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, said that these agreements, along with other bilateral declarations, ensure that the U.S. “will never interfere with Panama’s sovereignty, its territory, or its political system, and will fully respect the terms of the treaty.”
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
