Panama: Crossroads of Empires · Episode 24 of 24 · 11 min
Is This the Canal Zone Again? A Finale from Someone Who Lived There
Closing the series, the host draws on a personal vantage on the Canal Zone to ask whether U.S. troops in Panama today amount to a return of the Zone. A 1903 treaty created a strip governed as American territory for ninety-six years, and it ended at noon on December 31, 1999. American troops are back under a memorandum, not a treaty, and a constitutional challenge remains unanswered.
Who's who
- Philippe Bunau-Varilla+2 more episodesFrench engineer who signed the 1903 treaty as Panama's minister
- Jimmy Carter+12 more episodesSigned the 1977 canal treaties
- José Raúl Mulino+5 more episodesPanama's president; says there are and will be no U.S. bases
- Pete Hegseth+9 more episodesU.S. Secretary of Defense; signed the April 2025 memorandum
- Frank Ábrego+2 more episodesPanama's Minister of Public Security; signed the memorandum
- Graciela Dixon+1 more episodeFormer president of Panama's Supreme Court
- Juan Ramón Sevillano+1 more episodeLawyer who challenged the memorandum
- Ilya Espino de Marotta+1 more episodeDeputy administrator due to become canal administrator in October 2026
Where it happens
- Canal Zone, Panama+5 more episodesTen-mile U.S.-governed strip from 1903 to 1999
- Panama City, Panama+6 more episodesCity with a border running through it
- Balboa High School, Canal Zone+1 more episodeSite of the January 1964 flag dispute
- Fort Sherman, Panama+1 more episodeJungle school ground that became a Panamanian base
Timeline
- November 18, 1903Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty signed before Panama's delegation arrived
- January 9, 1964Flag dispute at Balboa High School turns lethal
- September 7, 1977Torrijos-Carter treaties signed
- December 31, 1999Canal Zone ends and Panama takes the canal
- April 9, 2025Memorandum signed allowing U.S. troops on Panamanian bases
- April 16, 2025Constitutional challenge filed; no Supreme Court answer reported
Still debated
The memorandum's terms rest on press reporting of the published text, and no ruling on the constitutional challenges has been found. Total U.S. personnel in Panama has never been published. The finale holds that this is not the Zone but that the presence has outlived its announced mission.
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