The decision of Jimmy Carter, the former President of America, in 1977, which must be hurting Trump even today

Former US President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100. Jimmy Carter became president in 1977 after defeating R. Ford. He remained the President of America till 1981 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. During his presidential tenure, he was involved in many controversies, the most important of which was regarding the Panama Canal.

Recently, many controversies have come up regarding the Panama Canal. America's newly elected President Donald Trump has alleged that the Central American country Panama is charging more from American cargo ships. He has also talked about taking back Panama while staking his claim on it.

Jimmy Carter's 1977 decision

The Panama Canal was an area that some people who lived there referred to as a tropical utopia. The Canal Zone in Panama was under US control for about 75 years from 1903, but in 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed an agreement with Panamanian leader General Omar Torrijos and handed it over to Panama. Panama later took full control of the Panama Canal.

Now many Trump supporters are demanding its withdrawal. They are also alleging that Panama is levying excessive taxes on American ships. After Trump's statement, Panama's leader Munillo said, "Every square meter of the Panama Canal is ours and the area around it is also ours. There will be no compromise on Panama's sovereignty and independence." He also said that it rarely happens that an American leader says that he will take control of a part of a country.

Anger was flared against America

After 1950, Panamanian opposition to US control over the canal zone grew. By the 1960s, the canal had become a major issue, with frequent protests against the US. These protests took a violent turn on January 9, 1964. Officials in the zone had ordered that neither the US nor Panamanian flags be flown in schools in the canal zone, but the dispute turned violent and more than 20 Panamanians and four US soldiers died. The dispute was settled after Jimmy Carter's agreement in 1977.