Republicans hoping to thwart Beijing’s influence in Latin America are urging the Panamanian government to cut ties with Chinese entities.

In recent weeks, when he was President-elect Donald Trump publicly said that Panama should return the Panama Canal to the United States, and he would not rule out using military force to reclaim it. At his presidential Inauguration on Monday Trump doubled down on saying that his new administration was going to take back the canal.

We're taking it back.' Trump inauguration speech claim that the U.S. will regain control of the Panama Canal spurs immediate reaction in Panama.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence that he wants to have the Panama Canal back under U.S. control is feeding nationalist sentiment and worry in Panama, home to the critical trade route and a country familiar with U.

The canal, which was once owned by the United States but was handed over to Panama decades ago, gives vessels a much shorter route between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. While the two countries could end up resolving the issue,

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin shares a closer look at the growing geopolitical conversation around the Panama Canal on ‘Special Report.’

During his inaugural address, President Donald Trump doubled down on his assertion that China runs the Panama Canal. "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,