UNITED STATES GIVES UP CONTROL OF PANAMA CANAL
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter of the United States and Omar Torrijos* of Panama signed a treaty which gives Panama control of the Panama Canal as of the year 2000.
The treaty** cancels out the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, negotiated when Theodore Roosevelt was POTUS. The United States has controlled the canal since that time.
The United States does, however, retain the right to defend the Panama Canal from threat.
The treaty was not universally popular. Conservative Republicans, like Ronald Reagan, opposed it on the grounds that it gave away a strategic asset to a hostile government.
*Omar Efrain Torrijos (1929-1981) was born in Santiago & educated at a military academy. OET became commander of the Panamanian National Guard & served as de facto head of Panama 1968-1981. His son, Martin, was president of Panama 2004-2009.
**It is officially known as "The Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality & Operation of the Panama Canal."
