The John Birch Society

Reclaim the Panama Canal

We must reclaim the Panama Canal to protect our independence and national security — and ensure adherence to the Constitution.

In his inauguration address, President Trump vowed that “we’re taking [the Panama Canal] back.” And his State of the Union address before Congress on March 4, 2025, he declared: “To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it.” This comes 25 years after which the U.S. government illegally and foolishly surrendered to Panama in 1999, following two 1977 treaties paving the way for it. In making this announcement, Trump became the first prominent American elected official in decades to even mention this important issue.

We, at The John Birch Society, originally opposed President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to sell our canal to Panama. At the time, Panama was ruled by the military dictatorship of General Omar Efraín Torrijos, who’s left-wing Democratic Revolutionary Party was a member of the Socialist International. The John Birch Society continued to call for reclaiming control of the canal even as the Clinton administration finalized the sale and transfer in 1999. That same year, Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-Idaho) introduced H.J. Res. 77 (of the 106th Congress) — a joint resolution to notify the government of Panama that the U.S. government nullifies the 1977 Carter-Torrijos treaties and that the United States recognizes that the original Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 has never been voided and therefore remain legally binding.

The primary basis for nullifying the 1977 Carter-Torrijos treaties, according to Rep. Chenoweth-Hage’s bill, was that the “United States and Panama did not agree to the same text of the treaties.” According to a testimony delivered under oath before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, on June 23, 1983, by Dr. Charles H. Breecher, who was the former director of the Office of Programing, Planning and Budget, Securities Assistance Bureau, Agency for International Development in the State Department and an expert on the Panama Canal treaties, he said:

First, the Panama Canal treaties have not — I repeat, not — been ratified in international law, and they therefore did not go into effect on the 1st of October 1979, and are not in effect now. The reason is very simple. In their respective instruments of ratification, the United States and Panama did not agree to the same text of the treaties.

Although in 1978 the U.S. Senate approved the disastrous same two treaties that both President Carter and General Torrijos previously signed in 1977, Panama agreed to them with a condition, a so-called “understanding, that they added after agreeing to the original text. This “understanding” was a counter-reservation, meaning they disagreed with part of the treaty that gave the U.S. the permanent right to use military force in Panama without Panama’s consent in order to guarantee U.S. control of the canal’s security. However, the U.S. never accepted Panama’s added condition.

Furthermore, Article 20.2 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which governs the rules for making treaties between sovereign nations, unequivocally states that ‘‘a reservation requires acceptance by all the parties.’’ Therefore, even under international law, the treaties are illegal.

Regardless of international law, the Panama Canal was built at great cost by American hands. As President Trump explained in his 2025 State of the Union address:

The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others, but others could use it. But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure. Thirty-eight thousand workers died building the Panama Canal. They died of malaria. They died of snake bites and mosquitoes. Not a nice place to work. They paid them very highly to go there, knowing there was a 25 percent chance that they would die. The most expensive project, also, that was ever built in our country’s history, if you bring it up to modern-day costs.

Congress must back up President Trump’s goal with robust legislation — and we must inform both Congress and the president about the problems with the Panama Canal treaties.

Contact your U.S. representative and senators using our legislative alert here. Also, print and distribute our Panama Canal Petition.

The 1977 Carter-Torrijos Treaties paved the way for surrendering U.S. control over the Panama Canal. These treaties not only foolishly compromised U.S. national security, but are illegal, since the United States and Panama agreed to different text in the treaties.

For more details, read Dr. Charles H. Breecher’s 1983 testimony, in full, explaining how the treaties were illegally ratified, click here.

Additionally, read the following articles to learn about the dangerous consequences of surrendering U.S. control of the Panama Canal — consequences that are being realized today:

What You Can Do

Here are actions you can take to help reassert lawful U.S. control over the Panama Canal:

  • Contact your U.S. representative and senators. Urge them to enact a measure similar to H. J. Res. 77 of the 106th Congress formally declaring the Carter-Torrijos Treaties null and void. Use our legislative alert here.
  • Share the documents and articles linked above to your congressmen to show them how the Carter-Torrijos Treaties were illegally ratified.