The new Panamanian ambassador was given strict instructions as he prepared to meet then-President Donald Trump one day in 2019: Do not engage him in any substantive discussion of critical issues.

Donald Trump has refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal that was returned by the US to Panama decades ago.

Control of the Panama Canal, once a key U.S. presidential campaign issue for Ronald Reagan and an animating topic for people ranging from film legend John Wayne to an unpredictable Canadian-born U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks about his ambitions for buying Greenland from Denmark and retaking the Panama Canal despite a treaty.

President-elect Donald Trump’s threats over the Panama Canal may be rooted in his decades-long views of the country, forged by his own attempts to do business there. CNN’s Phil Mattingly reports.