We're taking it back.' Trump inauguration speech claim that the U.S. will regain control of the Panama Canal spurs immediate reaction in Panama.

The Panama Canal connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean, providing a crucial shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for maritime traffic. The United States handed Panamanian control of the canal in 1999 after overseeing its construction and operation for most of the 20th century.

Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would take back the Panama Canal as he delivered an inauguration speech in which he invoked the 19th century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny.

For weeks, Donald Trump has been stating his intention to take control of the Panama Canal, a critical 51-mile long waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

With Trump sworn in as the 47th president on Monday, he returned to power with a pledge to end what he sees as America's decline and "completely and totally reverse"

Speaking during his inaugural address, President Trump vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America," return Alaska's Denali to "Mount McKinley" and retake control of the Panama Canal.