Republicans hoping to thwart Beijing’s influence in Latin America are urging the Panamanian government to cut ties with Chinese entities.

U.S. investment bank JPMorgan has downgraded its recommendation on Panama's bonds after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his threat this week to "take back" the Panama canal. The Central American country's bonds have been struggling since Trump made the pledge during his election campaign,

In recent weeks, when he was President-elect Donald Trump publicly said that Panama should return the Panama Canal to the United States, and he would not rule out using military force to reclaim it. At his presidential Inauguration on Monday Trump doubled down on saying that his new administration was going to take back the canal.