The U.S. helped Panama secede from Colombia in 1903 to build the passage that now carries more than 10,000 ships a year.

The president-elect intends to push back on Beijing’s “growth and strategic footprint” in the Western Hemisphere, said Trump’s pick for Latin America special envoy.

President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend suggested the US should retake the Panama Canal, an idea that was immediately rejected by the government of Panama, which has controlled the passage for decades.