USA Hands Over Control of Panama Canal To Panama - Dec 31,1999

U.S. President Jimmy Carter  and Panama's General Omar Torrijos signed two new treaties that replaced the original 1903 agreement and called for a transfer of canal control in 1999. The treaty, narrowly ratified by the U.S. Senate, gave America the ongoing right to defend the canal against any threats to its neutrality.

In accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties,on Dec31,1999 USA officially hands over control of the Panama Canal(50-mile canal, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans)putting the strategic waterway into Panamanian hands for the first time.