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By Peter M. Tase, AzerNEWS

With President Donald J. Trump at the White House, the golden age of America has begun. Global Security Governance will be extremely enhanced under President Trump's America First Strategy. In the Americas, the revival of the Monroe Doctrine under the magnificent leadership of President Trump, will generate a cautious reliance of Latin American nations towards other economies across the Pacific. As the world is moving from the Industrial to the Intelligence age, the United Nations continues to be an obsolete and highly corrupt organization; it suffers from the very endemic syndrome of corruption demonstrated by the USAID and its incompetent bureaucrats operating within its rotten administrative capillaries. The dismantling of USAID offices at home and abroad by the Trump–Vance administration is historic, will save billions of U. S. Dollars for American taxpayers, and uphold the U. S. National Security Interests on the International Stage. President Trump has emerged as the best U. S. Head of State since the early days of President Abraham Lincoln. Guided by the legendary conservative principles, shaped under the leadership of President Ronald Wilson Reagan; the current White House will also, and legitimately so, take control of the Panama Canal that was built under the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt who oversaw the realization of a long-term objective of the United States —a trans-isthmian canal. For American and British entrepreneurs and governments it was imperative to ship goods efficiently and quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts during the 19^th Century. Panama Canal continues to be the principal engineering marvel in the Americas and Washington has the legitimate right to exert full operational control and ensure its safety by employing all tools of statecraft and military technology as well as tactics.

It is disturbing to hear how a renowned Latin American businessman Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego (founder and President of Mexico’s Grupo Salinas) is giving a talk at the World Government Summit 2025 in Dubai calling “North Americans stupid”. The United States is blessed to be governed by the Trump – Vance Administration which is highly committed to restoring America’s privileged position on the world stage so that foreign entrepreneurs including Salinas would not dare to scoff at Americans again.

In this context, the Panama Canal has been the principal source of wealth and income for all Panamanians and it remains a vital logistical corridor for global shipping for more than a century after its construction. It is the lifeblood of the Panamanian economy, generating US$5 billion in the last fiscal year. However, previous administrators of the Canal, Ricardo Martinelli (Former Panamanian President) and former President Juan Carlos Varela, are both under investigation for corruption and money laundering, at home and abroad. It is evident that both former top officials of the Central American nation have massively abused the Canal’s impressive revenues and financial resources.

The posture of the White House with regards to the Panama Canal will bring high levels of accountability, and regional security measures that were never seen before as well as reduce fraud and waste within the canal’s operations.

The United States established diplomatic relations with Panama in 1903 following its declaration of independence from Colombia. Panama’s location and role in international trade make it an indispensable actor that ensures U.S. prosperity and national security. Panama’s location in Central America has made the nation to become a major land and sea transit route where illegal drugs destined for the United States can be stopped and destroyed. While Panama’s economic growth rate is among the highest in the hemisphere, the country faces the challenge of making this growth more inclusive; and the willingness of Washington to take full control of the Canal, will generate more resources and further increase the microeconomic levels within the Panamanian society.

On February 2^nd, 2025, U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Martínez-Acha in Panama City at the Palacio de Las Garzas. U. S. foreign policy chief addressed critical regional and global challenges.

In his latest visit to Panama City, Secretary Marco Rubio stated in a press conference: “Panama is a country that is a friend, a brother, that we have many ties with and a great deal of cooperation. What’s happened in this hemisphere with mass migration is quite unfortunate. It’s a tragedy, and we have people who – as part of this process – in many cases, people are victims or have been victimized through this irregular path that has created issues for many countries in the region. We also understand from the United States that most people who come in here have as a goal eventually making it to the United States, so you could say that at a certain point, our border doesn’t begin at Texas or Mexico; it begins a lot farther down.”

Secretary Rubio underscored the desire for an improved U.S.–Panama investment climate and brought to the attention of President Mulino that the current “position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal.”

Secretary Rubio made it clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.

Furthermore, the U. S. – Panama cooperation program that helps to stop people with criminal histories, from going forward and creating problems in Panama, has been working well. In the same vein, Panama and its government must take decisive actions, and be fully transparent, towards ensuring the fulfillment of the two bilateral treaties that it signed with the United States.

As the Carter administration shaped the public opinion in favor of turning in the Canal to Panama’s leadership; Washington would soon find out that this mega project would favor illicit enrichment for only a few local politicians as the rest of the population continues to live in misery. A very similar approach to USAID projects in Latin America and Africa, where corrupt government officials extract all foreign donations and drain the public coffers. These negotiations in the 1970s were endorsed by Actor John Wayne and Torrijos hosted U.S. Senators in Panama, where he stressed that he was neither an enemy of the United States nor a communist.

The negotiators in Washington decided that their best chance for ratification was to submit two treaties to the U.S. Senate. The first, called The Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, or the Neutrality Treaty, stated that the United States could use its military to defend the Panama Canal against any threat to its neutrality, thus allowing perpetual U.S. usage of the Canal. The second, called The Panama Canal Treaty, stated that the Panama Canal Zone would cease to exist on October 1, 1979, and the Canal itself would be turned over to the Panamanians on December 31, 1999. These two treaties were signed on September 7, 1977.

Just as the fruitful cooperation on successfully tackling illegal immigration, Panama is obliged to respect the Treaty and invite Washington to take control of the Canal; a move that would greatly benefit its people and ensure greater economic growth and stability for all Panamanians and the Central American region overall.

Panama’s Canal administration deserves greater scrutiny by Washington, being a major global trade hub that has not fared well within the latest geostrategic hurdles. Nevertheless, the Trump – Vance Administration has the unbridled courage, brilliant statecraft, competency, intrepidity, and steady determination to bring the administration of the Canal back on track and ensure all massive revenues that it generates do not leave the hemisphere. The Panama Canal is an enduring investment – built completely with the money and labor force of the United States of America – for the bright future of U. S. National Security, and Washington’s geopolitical interests and is the fulcrum of Central America’s economic prosperity.