[Santino Sonny Corleone]

we could and should have gotten a base concession there. As far as the Canal, I don’t think US could have held it for longer with the protests and bad press.

[marktwain]

“bad press”

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There you have it. There were only a tiny minority of Panamanians who wanted their government to have control of the Canal. Most of them wanted the US to stay in possession, because they realized how corrupt their own government was.

I lived in Panama for 5 years, and this was the sense of it that I got. It was just a few communist agitators in the Colleges and a few in the government who wanted this.

My guess is that Torrijos asked for the moon, as a negotiating position, and was surprised as could be when Carter handed it to him on a platter.