More than 100 years after the construction of the engineering marvel that linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans — and 25 years after the canal was returned to Panama by the US — the Panama Canal faces renewed intimidation from US President Donald Trump.

President Trump’s push to take back control of the strategic waterway stokes memories of a period of U.S. imperial ambition and violence.

Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose U.S. control over the canal, Trump, in his inauguration speech Monday, again accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China — claims that Panama has vehemently denied.