On Dec. 31, 1999, the United States officially lost control of its most vital strategic asset: the Panama Canal. This tragic loss was set in motion 22 years prior, when President Jimmy Carter signed treaties recognizing the sovereignty of Panama and guaranteeing the canal territory’s permanent neutrality.

This crucial sea gate has hardly entered the news cycle since. But now Donald Trump has revived interest in it, demanding the canal be returned to U.S. possession. In an interview on X with Tucker Carlson, he stated that we practically “sold it for one dollar” and that giving away the sea gate was one of the “stupidest” things America has ever done.

How right is he?

An Outrageous Scam

In a December 21 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.”

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino retorted that the transit fees are not inflated. But there is truth to Trump’s statements.

The U.S. started building the Panama Canal under President Theodor Roosevelt. The country poured its blood, sweat and tears into the endeavor; over 25,000 workers died during the decade-long project, 5,600 of whom were American. The U.S. spent $375 million on it—including $10 million to Panama itself. Adjusted for 2024 inflation, that is $11.5 billion and $300 million respectively. In 1977, President Carter signed two shameful “treaties” with President Martin Torrijos, unfazed by opposition from two thirds of the America people and months of heated contest in the Senate, and gave away the canal.

Now, America has to pay to use it.

The U.S. uses the canal more than any other country. Seventy percent of all ships that use the canal are going to or coming from U.S. ports. Forty percent of all U.S. container traffic utilizes the canal. The U.S. pays considerable fees throughout the year for the privilege of using the canal it built. Tariffs and fees cost anywhere between $60,000 and $300,000, potentially even $450,000, per ship. Transit fees often spike to three to five times these prices, auctioning off booking slots for up to $4 million, when space is tight. The U.S. sends thousands of ships through per year. Trump said that the 1977 treaty was not signed so that America could be charged to use it. It was signed “merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama.”

Despite contributing the highest volume of usage, the U.S. owns none of the ports on or around to the canal. However, the country in second place for use of the sea gate owns two of the five ports directly adjacent to the canal, effectively giving it a monopoly on its porting industry. That country is China.

A Sinister Takeover

Another assertion Trump made in his social media post was that the agreement over the Panama Canal was “not given for the benefit of others,” in reference to China. And he is correct; the treaty was signed so that Panama could simply manage the canal. But now, China has securely nested itself and its influence into the region.

Some people have only just started catching on to this, but Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has been writing on this since 2000. In his booklet titled China’s Dangerous Move Against America, he writes:

Even before the final phase of the handover, an event happened that should have shaken America—but it was barely noticed! On March 1, 1997, the giant Chinese corporation Hutchison Whampoa took control of the American-constructed ports at each end of the Panama Canal.

This Fortune 500 company claimed to be privately owned, but evidence shows it is an ideological clone of the Chinese Communist Party [and] is nestled deeply in the ccp’s pocket and is entirely beholden to the party.

At face value, it seems like China’s strong presence in the region is purely economic. But Mr. Flurry goes on to write:

Any student of military strategy should see the startling possibilities that this terrible Chinese deal opened up. An enterprise of China … took control of the major sea-transit gateway between East and West. [T]he nation could deny the U.S. Navy access through this strategic choke point. The wartime implications of that are alarming!

China is a powerful country with the largest military in the world. What would stop the nation from taking things a step further and establishing a military presence in the region? All it needs to do is wait until America is in a time of crisis so that a U.S. military response would be greatly hindered or impossible.

Panama’s president responded to Donald Trump’s statements, saying, “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zones is part of Panama, and it will continue to be. … The canal is not under direct or indirect control, neither by China nor by the European community, nor by the United States, nor by any other power. … I strongly reject any statement that distorts this reality.”

Trump’s grave concerns are valid. He knows the canal must not fall into the wrong hands. He clearly sees this dangerous threat and wants to snatch back control of the canal before China can use it against America.

Where It Leads

President Trump wants to reclaim control of the Panama Canal. He also came out early Monday morning and stated that owning Greenland was an “absolute necessity” for the U.S. He sees great value in reaffirming U.S. presence and control in vital sea gates throughout the world in order to protect American interests, especially in economic terms. But can Trump really save America from the terrible economic woes prophesied to come on it?

In Deuteronomy 28, God said He would cause the enemies of modern Israel—America and Britain especially—to take control of the vital assets He had blessed them with if they did not turn to God. “And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee” (verse 52). In a 1980 update of his book The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

Britain and America came into possession of every such major “gate” in this world! So we must be modern Israel. World War ii hinged on these “gates.” They had become not only strategic passes, but the world’s greatest fortifications. But today, we have lost most of them, most recently, the Panama Canal.

Why? He went on to reference Leviticus 26:19, which says it is because the “pride of your power” is being broken! Countries like China are taking full advantage of the dangerous opportunities these losses present.

Isaiah 23 prophesies of a massive trade bloc, with verse 3 calling it a “mart of nations.” It reveals the identity of the nations who will besiege America and Britain. The deepening influence China is building in Panama is positioning it perfectly to take part in this siege. America is about to face the deadliest economic crisis it has ever seen, and prophecy shows that will only be a part of an even worse attack from an end-time European power.

At the height of their power, America and Britain controlled the vast majority of the world’s most strategic choke points. Now they have all but given them away, and their enemies have taken over. Yet giving up that power has not made the world love them.

Reclaiming the Panama Canal will not save America. Unless the nation repents, it faces the most destructive economic siege that will ever be seen in human history—but it is all part of the most valuable lesson mankind will ever learn. Ultimately, it leads to the most joyful and inspiring event to ever transpire: the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of God’s government on Earth.

To learn more about this siege and where it leads, read China’s Dangerous Move Against America.