President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend suggested the US should retake the Panama Canal, an idea that was immediately rejected by the government of Panama, which has controlled the passage for decades.

The social and racial divide along the Panama Canal zone in its American heyday was stark: a silver and gold, segregated system of pay – and life.

Donald Trump has said that the U.S. could demand the return of the Panama Canal if the country fails to reduce the fees it charges American ships.