Panama Canal Zone Handover

Date: December 31, 1999 • Location: Santa Clara, Panama

In accordance with the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal Zone from the United States.

The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which superseded the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903. The treaties guaranteed that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal after 1999, ending the control of the canal that the U.S. had exercised since 1903. The treaties are named after the two signatories, U.S. president Jimmy Carter and the commander of Panama's National Guard, General Omar Torrijos.