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.
List of former United States military installations in Panama
In 1903, the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed between Panama and the United States. It created the Panama Canal Zone as a U.S. governed region, and allowed the U.S. to build the Panama Canal. In 1977, the "Panama Canal Treaty" (also called "Torrijos–Carter Treaties") was signed by Commander of Panama's National Guard, General Omar Torrijos and U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Over time, it would replace and absolve the 1903 treaty.