Ricaurte Vásquez denied Trump’s claims that China was controlling the canal’s operations, and said making exceptions to current rules controlling its operation would lead to “chaos.”

Hundreds of Panamanians marched on Thursday to mark the anniversary of a deadly uprising against U.S. control of the Panama Canal in 1964, with some protesters burning an effigy of President-elect Donald Trump who has threatened to retake the vital global waterway.

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.

The Panama Canal Authority chief dismissed President-elect Trump’s claims that China is controlling the trade route and criticized his comments about fees. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales told The Wall

Few took the president-elect’s combative comments at face value, but they still sent a shudder through a country that the United States has invaded before.

S.D., introduced the Panama Canal Repurchase Act, co-sponsored by 15 other House Republicans, amid President-elect Trump's concerns.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) will introduce a bill that would authorize the president to purchase the Panama Canal and put it under U.S. control, an acquisition that President-elect Trump has been