The U.S. helped Panama secede from Colombia in 1903 to build the passage that now carries more than 10,000 ships a year.

The president-elect intends to push back on Beijing’s “growth and strategic footprint” in the Western Hemisphere, said Trump’s pick for Latin America special envoy.

President-elect Donald Trump is decrying the increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.