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Pete Hegseth's visit comes amid tensions over President Trump’s assertions that the U.S. is being overcharged to use the Panama Canal and that China has influence over its operations.

Panama’s top auditor accused port operator CK Hutchison of wrongdoing, providing a potential path for the  country to wrest control of canal facilities caught in a U.S.-China tug-of-war.

A.P. Moller-Maersk purchased a railway linking ports at both ends of the Panama Canal, undermining the U.S.'s presence along a trade route where Donald Trump is trying to elbow out competitors.

Billionaire Li Ka-shing reportedly won’t go ahead with the expected signing next week of a controversial deal to sell his Panama Canal ports to a consortium including BlackRock.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s leader has waded into a controversy over a prominent conglomerate’s decision to sell its Panama Canal port assets to a consortium including American investment bank BlackRock, a deal that has angered Beijing.

 CK Hutchison has agreed to sell shares of its units that operate the ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino denied that his government had granted free passage for U.S. government ships through the Panama Canal.

Panama is weighing whether to cancel its contract with the Hong Kong-based company that operates ports near the Panama Canal, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

“It’s impossible, I can’t negotiate,” Mulino said when asked about returning the canal to U.S. control. “That is done. The canal belongs to Panama.”

A Senate panel on Jan. 28 took aim at China’s involvement with operations at the Panama Canal and examined President Donald Trump’s economic strategy linked to travel by U.S. ships through the facility.