President Trump has talked a lot about Panama ever since he was elected President, and we know that Secretary of State Rubio’s first foreign visit was to Panama. You may be wondering why.

Rubio’s visit to Panama produced a positive result, with the Panamanian government announcing that they would not renew a contract that they have with a Chinese company related to operation of the canal, and would seek early termination of the current contract. Fox News reports:

Panama’s president vowed Sunday to end a key development deal with China after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and after complaints from President Donald Trump that the Latin American country had ceded control over its critical shipping canal to Beijing.

José Raúl Mulino, Panama’s president, said his nation’s sovereignty over the 51-mile waterway, which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, will remain unchanged. But he said he would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road global development initiative and that Panama would instead look to work more closely with the U.S.

“I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible U.S. investments in Panama,” Mulino told reporters after meeting with Rubio on his first international trip since being confirmed.

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know that the Chinese had anything to do with the Panama Canal. What I learned is that we have a treaty with Panama that was signed at the time that the Canal was “sold” to Panama for $1.00 during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. That treaty states that Panama must maintain a neutral stance regarding operation of the Canal and that if they did not, the USA has the option to intervene.

This video explains the history of the Canal, the political considerations that led to the USA giving the canal to the country of Panama, previous military operations in Panama (think Noriega) and what is happening now.