Panama promotes itself “as the bridge of the world, heart of the universe” but lately the narrow Central American Isthmus and its namesake canal that joins the Atlantic to the Pacific have become the setting for a bitter clash between the world’s two preeminent economic superpowers.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warns against China's growing presence in the Western Hemisphere, which poses a threat to the Panama Canal. Hegseth announces an agreement with Panama regarding the canal's security.