Hern said the president-elect is concerned that China is essentially operating the canal. Observers say climate change is a factor in the canal management dispute and renewed interest in Greenland.

President-elect Trump’s refusal to rule out military action to attain his ambitions of acquiring the Panama Canal and Greenland has sparked some stern responses overseas and spurred a global

In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump reiterated threats he has made about the Panama Canal, claiming, "we're taking it back." He'd previously declared that the rates Panama charges for access to the Panama Canal violated the “magnanimous gesture” the U.

Russia’s foreign ministry has called on Trump to reaffirm the current international agreement surrounding the Panama Canal and to leave it in control of the nation of Panama.

Some Panamanians saw Trump's remarks as a way of applying pressure on Panama for something else he wants: better control of migration through the Darien Gap.