PANAMA CITY, July 10 — The Torrijos–Carter Treaties, signed nearly half a century ago, remain the foundational legal architecture for the Panama Canal’s operation, a technical reality that continues to shape global shipping and U.S.-Latin American relations. The two agreements, inked on September 7, 1977, by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos, replaced the 1903 Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which had granted the United States perpetual control over the canal and the surrounding Canal Zone. The detail that matters is that the old treaty gave Washington what amounted to sovereign rights in perpetuity—a colonial-era arrangement that Panama had long resented.
Under the hood of the new framework, the first instrument—the Panama Canal Treaty—abolished the Canal Zone outright. It established a joint U.S.-Panamanian operation of the waterway until December 31, 1999, after which full control would transfer to Panama. The second treaty, the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, guaranteed the canal’s permanent neutrality and open access to all nations. That neutrality clause was the technical core that reassured shipping nations—particularly the United States—that the canal would remain a reliable chokepoint for global commerce regardless of who ran it.
The U.S. Senate ratified both treaties on April 18, 1978, by a 68–32 vote—exactly one vote more than the required two-thirds majority. That margin was as tight as it gets in treaty politics, a reminder that the deal was never a foregone conclusion. The transfer of control was completed at noon on December 31, 1999, with the Panama Canal Authority, known as the ACP, assuming full operation. As ever, the handover was precise: the ACP took over lock operations, maintenance, and the canal’s toll structure.
The treaties remain a landmark in U.S.-Latin American relations and a symbol of Panama’s sovereignty. For the informed reader, the technical reality is that the canal’s operation today—managing the massive Neopanamax locks, the water-saving basins, and the transit scheduling system—rests entirely with Panamanian authorities. The United States, under the current administration of President Donald Trump, has no operational role, though the neutrality treaty remains in force.
What to watch next is whether the canal’s neutrality provisions ever face a serious test. The treaties guarantee open access to all nations, but geopolitical tensions—particularly involving China’s growing presence in Latin America—have raised questions about whether that principle could come under strain. For now, the canal runs on schedule, the ACP publishes its transit data, and the 1977 architecture holds.
