the question we would have to have with Panama is, do you truly, verifiably know everything

that China is doing in regards to your canal for national security concerns? Unless they

could give us an answer of 100 percent we do, we're going to have to have more transparency

on that. And I think that that's what the conversation is at today.

President Trump says he wants the U.S. to control the Panama Canal and other regions and waterways

that he says are crucial to America's national security interests.

Worst case scenario for the United States would be that they would find a way to disrupt

the Panama Canal so that the United States no longer has rapid reaction capabilities to be

able to move from the Atlantic into the Pacific.

Joseph Humeier is an expert on Latin America, an asymmetric warfare.

In this episode, he breaks down the context of Trump's recent comments and how vulnerable the U.S.

is to increasing Chinese, Russian, and Iranian influence in the region.

The United States has not had a grand strategy for the Western Hemisphere, arguably in 100 years,

arguably since the Monroe Doctrine.

This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Yan Yalek.

Joseph Humeyer, such a pleasure to have you back on American Thought Leaders.

Always a pleasure to Jan.

So President Trump seems like he really wants to control the Panama Canal and perhaps

Greenland as well at almost any cost. Some people think it's a negotiating tactic. Others are afraid,

frankly. What's your take? So I think this is mostly a national security conversation that

President Trump is presenting. Obviously, there's some economic dimensions, obviously there's negotiation aspects to any kind of discussion

that's had with partners and allies. But I think fundamentally what President Trump is doing

...