The people and the waterway at the center of the Panama Canal : Consider This from NPR

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (4th-L) talks to Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez (L) during a tour at the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on February 2, 2025.

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Panama Canal has sat at the center of global trade for more than a century, connecting two oceans. The things Americans use every day pass through here, from gas to food. And now, this spot is also at the center of President Trump’s global expansionist agenda.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just wrapped up a trip to Panama where he told the President that if China’s influence over the canal isn’t curbed the United States will take measures to protect its rights.

Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal has the potential to reshuffle global politics. We’re meet the people and the 51-mile waterway in the middle of it all.

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This episode was produced by Karen Zamora, Alejandra Marquez Janse, Rolando Arrietta, Andrea Salcedo, and Connor Donevan..

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Sami Yenigun, who is also our executive producer.