Ricaurte Vásquez denied Trump’s claims that China was controlling the canal’s operations, and said making exceptions to current rules controlling its operation would lead to “chaos.”

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.

Hundreds of Panamanians marched on Thursday to mark the anniversary of a deadly uprising against U.S. control of the Panama Canal in 1964, with some protesters burning an effigy of President-elect Donald Trump who has threatened to retake the vital global waterway.