In his inaugural speech Trump claimed the Panama Canal was a ‘foolish gift’ that should never have been made and vowed to take it back

Newly sworn in US president, Donald Trump, has doubled down on his pre-inauguration pledge to “take back” the Panama Canal.

During his inaugural address, Trump said the spirit of a treaty signed in 1977 by president Jimmy Carter that relinquished control of the canal in 1999 had been violated.