Donald Trump Panama Canal | Trump Says US "Taking Back" Panama Canal In Inauguration Address

President Donald Trump on Monday cast himself as a peacemaker in his second inaugural address, but immediately vowed that the United States would be "taking back" the Panama Canal. Trump issued the threat, without explaining details, after weeks of refusing to rule out military action against Panama over the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999. "Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we're taking it back," Trump said after being sworn in inside the US Capitol. Panama maintains control of the canal but Chinese companies have been steadily increasing their presence around the vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.