Which year did the U.S. transfer actual control of the Panama Canal to people of Panama?

The U.S. transferred control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999. In the years after the Canal opened, tensions increased between America and Panama over control of the Canal and the surrounding Canal Zone. In 1964, Panamanians rioted after being prevented from flying their nation’s flag next to a U.S. flag in the Canal Zone. In the aftermath of the violence, Panama temporarily broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos of Panama nonetheless signed treaties that transferred control of the Canal to Panama in 1999 but gave the United States the right to use military force to defend the waterway.

Despite opposition by a number of politicians who didn’t want the U.S. to give up its authority over the Canal, the U.S. lived up to each treaty that it had made. Control of the Panama Canal was transferred peacefully to Panama in December 1999, and the Panamanians have been responsible for it ever since.