President Donald Trump's suggestion of the U.S. taking control of the Panama Canal has a legal basis partly due to potential treaty violations involving Chinese activities in Panama.

Trump's new top maritime official Louis Sola tells CNBC 'all options on the table' to punish Panama and defend U.S. business, trade and national security.

The Tuesday hearing delved into security issues and foreign influence on the foremost maritime channel connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

President Trump said of the Panama Canal, “We’re taking it back.” The letter from Panama cited articles of the U.N. charter that prohibit member states from using threats and force.

Marco Rubio will head overseas late next week; he's also scheduled to visit Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will likely travel to Central America in the first week of February, a source familiar with the planning said.

Panama has owned and administered the Panama Canal for nearly three decades. President Trump wants to change that to counter growing Chinese influence in Latin America.

Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump is pushing to “take back” the Panama Canal, the world’s second busiest interoceanic waterway,

It is now a weapon being used against us.” Trump’s skepticism about U.S. support for Ukraine and Taiwan, his eagerness to impose tariffs, and his threats to retake the Panama Canal, absorb Canada, and acquire Greenland make it clear that he envisions a return to nineteenth-century power politics and spheres of interest,

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing Tuesday to discuss the issue of foreign influence in the Panama Canal.