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Powell plans to visit Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua
Washington, Oct 28: US Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to visit Panama next week to mark the 100th anniversary of its independence, which paved the way for the United States to build the Panama Canal, a US official said.
Washington, Oct 28: US Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to visit Panama next week to mark the 100th anniversary of its independence, which paved the way for the United States to build the Panama Canal, a US official said.
The official, who asked not to be named, said Powell was also expected to make stops in Guatemala and Nicaragua during his trip, which will focus on the November 3 centenary of Panama's independence from Colombia.
Colombia, which granted the rights to a failed French canal effort in the 1880s, in early 1903 demanded large sums from the United States for the right to build the canal, triggering some interest in Washington in supporting Panamanian independence. Fifteen days after Panama declared independence, it struck the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty giving the United States the right to build the canal and to govern a 16-km-wide area known as the canal zone.
Under the 1977 Panama Canal treaties concluded during US President Jimmy Carter's administration, the United States returned the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999.
Bureau Report
Colombia, which granted the rights to a failed French canal effort in the 1880s, in early 1903 demanded large sums from the United States for the right to build the canal, triggering some interest in Washington in supporting Panamanian independence. Fifteen days after Panama declared independence, it struck the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty giving the United States the right to build the canal and to govern a 16-km-wide area known as the canal zone.
Under the 1977 Panama Canal treaties concluded during US President Jimmy Carter's administration, the United States returned the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999.
Bureau Report