This is CBS, I on the World. The New World Report. I'm John Batchel with my colleagues, Ernest R. Uruzha, former

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Brazil, and Joseph Umeyer, the executive director of Secure Free Society.

Panama, the canal zone once upon a time, now the sovereign state of Panama, it has one of the most important pieces of real estate on the planet, the Panama Canal.

And that canal, since the beginning of the 20th century, has been vital to the success of all of the Americas, but especially the United States of America. Most recently,

the statistic is three quarters of the ships that pass through the canal are American,

are American connected. At the same time, the canal has struggled these last years because of a

shortage of water. There was a drought that damaged the ability for

ships to pass from one side to the other. At the same time, most importantly, Mr. Trump,

the president-elect, has made remarks that are consistent with believing that Panama is not

well cared for by its sovereign government, President

Melino recently elected, and therefore it is necessary for the U.S. to defend Panama by asserting

its authority, which exists in a treaty from 1977 to defend Panama should have come under

attack. What constitutes attack? We're wandering down a path

that is not much explored, so it's fresh information. The simple version is the president-elect,

Mr. Trump has said, Panama is not secure, and therefore we're going to make it secure, along with Greenland, part of the

conversation underway now in Washington. Panama says, we're secure, we're sovereign, hence the

burning of flags in the streets, hence remarks by the President Molino that this is our country, Panama. It will stay our country.

Joseph, I come to you because there are other matters here, but I wanted to emphasize the

Canal Zone was the U.S. possession until the late 20th century. The treaty was under the Carter

administration. The handover was under the Clinton

administration. At both ends of the canal now are dominated by China, the People's Republic of China,

through one of its semi-governmental cutouts, Costco. That suggests that the hostiles in Beijing are looking to control the

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