Frequent droughts have pushed authorities to pursue a controversial plan to dam a river to save the waterway — an act that would flood the homes of thousands of people.

In his inaugural address last month, Donald Trump described the US decision to hand full control of the canal to Panama, in 1999, as "a foolish gift that should have never been made".

Since returning to office, President Trump has made repeated claims that China operates the Panama Canal and threatened to take it back from the Panama Canal Authority, which has controlled it since 1999.

The U.S. president has announced several times in recent weeks that he intends to «bring back» the Panama Canal. His words bring back bad memories.