The main reason Trump’s reannexation of the Panama Canal would backfire

PANAMA CITY, Panama—When President Theodore Roosevelt formulated plans for the Panama Canal, there was no Panama. The country was still part of the Republic of Colombia despite bouts of on-again, off-again autonomy and separatism.

When Colombia rejected proposals for the canal, Roosevelt threw U.S. support to Panamanian independence or, as Panamanians refer to it, separation from Colombia. It was an implicit quid pro quo. Panama received independence, and the United States was able to build the canal after the Spaniards gave up on the prospect, and the French failed in their efforts.