Panama is inching closer to China, Trump's new Federal Maritime Commission head Louis Sola tells CNBC, and 'all options on the table' to defend U.S. business.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday expressed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would take back.

Trump has called for the U.S. to take back control of the Panama Canal, warning of heavy Chinese activity in the region.

President Trump's priorities of immigration enforcement and promoting U.S. interests in the Panama Canal lead the political agenda in Washington.

President Donald Trump cannot take the Panama Canal — at least not legally — as he would be violating every single treaty that the U.S. has come into with Panama since 1945, international law and national security experts told WLRN.

In recent weeks, when he was President-elect Donald Trump publicly said that Panama should return the Panama Canal to the United States, and he would not rule out using military force to reclaim it. At his presidential Inauguration on Monday Trump doubled down on saying that his new administration was going to take back the canal.

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

President Trump is stirring the pot with claims of Chinese control and unfair tolls, while Panama insists it’s just fine running its own show, despite the looming specter of American intervention.

During a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today, Senator Ted Cruz questioned experts over China's influence over the Panama Canal.

China's influence on the Panama Canal is a major risk to U.S. national security, Sen. Ted Cruz told lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill.

The answer is simple: there is no greater or more idealistic symbol of U.S. power in the world than the Panama Canal. As Trump seeks a way to enhance the country's power in the world, leaning on imagery regarding the Panama Canal provides just the right message.