The completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 reshaped global trade and established a century of American influence in Central America. For Panama, it also created a foreign-controlled zone slicing directly through the heart of the country.

Zone of Influence examines Panama’s decades-long struggle to regain control of the waterway, culminating in a defining assertion of national sovereignty.

Today, as global powers compete for influence across Latin America, the canal has reemerged as a strategic geopolitical flashpoint.