History of the Panama Canal
During World War II, the canal proved a vital part of the U.S. military strategy, allowing ships to transfer easily between the Atlantic and Pacific. Politically, the Canal remained a territory of the United States until 1977, when the Torrijos–Carter Treaties began the process of transferring territorial control of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, a process completed on 31 December 1999.
Title 35 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Title 35 of the Code of Federal Regulations (35 CFR) was a United States federal government regulation on the Panama Canal. The U.S. controlled the Panama Canal Zone from 1904 to 1999. The Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government in 1999, and is now operated by the Panama Canal Authority, a Panamanian government agency.