Lee Sin, The Blind Monk
Panama gave the United States control over the canal zone.
in 1999
Panama owns the Panama Canal. Although the US had control over the Canal Zone from 1903 to 1979, the treaty was eventually amended in 1977.
On September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaty. The US gave control of the Panama Canal back to Panama in 2000.
The United States gave it to Panama. So Panama controls the canal.
The US controlled the Panama Canal Zone directly from 1903 until the exclusive US-led government was abolished on October 1, 1979, as a term of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties of 1977. From 1979 until December 31, 1999٫ the canal itself was under joint U.S.–Panamanian control. It was on DECEMBER 31, 1999 that full control of the canal was restored to Panama.
The U.S. military backed rebels who soon controlled independent Panama.
When the U.S. transferred control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999, it retained the right to intervene in the canal's operations to ensure its neutrality and security. This was established under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977, which aimed to ensure that the canal would remain open and accessible to all nations for peaceful navigation. Additionally, the U.S. retained the right to protect its interests and the security of the canal zone until the transfer was completed.
French interests headed by de Lessups (who had built the Suez Canal) originally tried constructing the Panama Canal but went bankrupt and gave up.
Ronald Reagan could argue that Carter lost or gave away the Panama Canal because Carter did give away the Panama Canal. Carter felt that it wasn't on American land.
Jimmy Carter
President Jimmy Carter, although the USA really created the nation of Panama to get the canal in the first place, so President Jimmy Carter was actually doing the right thing when he gave Panama the right to control something that was built on their land in the first place. Panama still allows the USA to have a say in how the canal is run.