The
Torrijos?Carter Treaties
(Spanish:
Tratados Torrijos-Carter
) 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in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which superseded the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
.
Torrijos?Carter Treaties
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Jimmy_Carter_and_General_Omar_Torrijos_signing_the_Panama_Canal_Treaty.jpg/240px-Jimmy_Carter_and_General_Omar_Torrijos_signing_the_Panama_Canal_Treaty.jpg) |
Type
| Bilateral treaties
|
---|
Signed
| 7?September?1977
?(
1977-09-07
)
|
---|
Location
| Pan American Union Building
, Washington, D.C., United States
|
---|
Original
signatories
|
|
---|
Signatories
| Jimmy Carter
Omar Torrijos
|
---|
Ratifiers
|
Panama
United States
|
---|
Languages
| English and Spanish
|
---|
This first treaty is officially titled
The Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal
(Spanish:
Tratado Concerniente a la Neutralidad Permanente y Funcionamiento del Canal de Panama
)
[1]
and is commonly known as the "Neutrality Treaty". Under this treaty, the U.S. retained the permanent right to defend the canal from any threat that might interfere with its continued neutral service to ships of all nations. The second treaty is titled
The Panama Canal Treaty
(
Tratado del Canal de Panama
),
[2]
and provided that as from 12:00 on December 31, 1999, Panama would assume full control of canal operations and become primarily responsible for its defense.
Panamanian efforts to renegotiate the original
Hay?Bunau-Varilla Treaty
had been ongoing almost since it was first signed in November 1903, a few weeks after Panama obtained its independence from
Colombia
. However, activity to renegotiate or abrogate the treaty increased considerably after the
Suez Crisis
, and events in 1964 precipitated a complete breakdown in relations between the U.S. and Panama. On January 9 of that year, Panamanian students entered the canal zone to fly the Panamanian flag next to the American flag, per a 1963 agreement to defuse tension between the two countries. Panamanians watching the event began rioting after the students raising the Panamanian flag were jeered and harassed by American school officials, students, and their parents. During the scuffle, somehow the Panamanian flag was torn. Widespread rioting ensued, during which over 20 Panamanians were killed and about 500 were injured. Most of the casualties were caused by fire from U.S. troops, who had been called in to protect Canal Zone property, including private residences of Canal Zone employees. January 9 is a National Holiday in Panama, known as
Martyrs' Day
.
The next day, January 10, Panama broke off diplomatic relations with the United States and on January 19,
President of Panama
Roberto Chiari
declared that Panama would not re-establish diplomatic ties with the United States until the U.S. agreed to begin negotiations on a new treaty. The first steps in that direction were taken shortly thereafter on April 3, 1964, when both countries agreed to an immediate resumption of diplomatic relations and the United States agreed to adopt procedures for the "elimination of the causes of conflict between the two countries". A few weeks later,
Robert B. Anderson
, President
Lyndon Johnson
's special representative, flew to Panama to pave the way for future talks. Negotiations over the next years resulted in a treaty in 1967, but it failed to be ratified in Panama.
[3]
Two ballots for 1977 Panamanian Plebiscite
After the failure of those treaties, Panama experienced a change in government following a
1968 military coup
. The new government was consolidated under Omar Torrijos, who decided to definitively reject the 1967 treaty.
[4]
[5]
In response to a lack of progress of negotiations with the
Nixon administration
, the Torrijos government succeeded in holding a March 1973
United Nations Security Council
session in Panama City, where it attracted considerable international support for its cause. The diplomatic debacle also attracted
Henry Kissinger
's attention and helped produce momentum for the 1974 Tack-Kissinger agreement, which would provide the crucial framework for negotiations moving forward. "It was this work, beginning in late 1972, that made Panama the visible issue that Carter boldly hoped to solve as a watershed for a new style of foreign policy and an era of improved relations with Latin America."
[6]
The
Carter administration
made the canal a high priority, starting during the transition. The issue had been highlighted by a blue-ribbon commission headed by Ambassador
Sol Linowitz
. Several individuals associated with that commission would play major roles in the Carter administration's Latin America policy, including Linowitz himself and NSC Senior Director
Robert A. Pastor
.
[7]
Negotiations were resumed on February 15, 1977, and were completed by August 10 of that year. On the American side the negotiators were
Ellsworth Bunker
and
Sol Linowitz
; the Panamanian side of the negotiations was headed by
Romulo Escobar Bethancourt
. Senator
Dennis DeConcini
sponsored a critical amendment to the Panama Canal Treaty that allowed the Senate to come to a consensus on giving control of the Canal to Panama. A few days before final agreement on the treaties was reached, President
Jimmy Carter
had sent a telegram to all members of Congress informing them of the status of the negotiations and asking them to withhold judgment on the treaty until they had an opportunity to carefully study it. Senator
Strom Thurmond
responded to Carter's appeal by stating in a speech later that day, "The canal is ours, we bought and we paid for it and we should keep it."
Jimmy Carter's speech upon signing the Panama Canal treaty, 7 September 1977.
Both treaties were subsequently ratified in Panama with 67.4% of the vote in
a referendum
held on October 23, 1977. To allow for popular discussion of the treaties and in response to claims made by opponents of the treaty in the U.S. that Panama was incapable of democratically ratifying them, restrictions on the press and on political parties were lifted several weeks prior to the vote. On the day of the vote, 96% of Panama's eligible voters went to the polls, the highest voter turnout in Panama up to that time. The neutrality treaty was of major concern among voters, particularly on the political left, and was one reason why the treaties failed to obtain even greater popular support.
The
United States Senate
advised and consented to ratification of the first treaty on March 16, 1978, and to the second treaty on April 18 by identical 68 to 32 margins.
[8]
On both votes, 52 Democrats and 16 Republicans voted in favor of advising and consenting to ratification, while 10 Democrats and 22 Republicans voted against.
The treaties were the source of vehement controversy in the United States, particularly among conservatives led by
Ronald Reagan
,
Strom Thurmond
and
Jesse Helms
, who regarded them as the surrender of a strategic American asset to what they characterized as a hostile government. The attack was mobilized by numerous groups, especially the
American Conservative Union
, the
Conservative Caucus
, the
Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress
,
Citizens for the Republic
, the
American Security Council Foundation
, the
Young Republicans
, the
National Conservative Political Action Committee
, the Council for National Defense,
Young Americans for Freedom
, the Council for Inter-American Security, and the Campus Republican Action Organization.
[9]
In the years preceding (and following) the final transfer of canal assets there were efforts to declare the Carter?Torrijos treaties null and void, e.g. House Joint Resolution 77 (HJR 77) introduced by
Helen Chenoweth-Hage
. Support of HJR 77 was part of the 2000 platform of the
Texas Republican Party
but no longer appeared in the 2004 platform.
[10]
[11]
Support for the treaties came from a variety of interests, including the
Joint Chiefs of Staff
and members of Congress, such as
Ernest Hollings
,
Hubert Humphrey
,
[12]
and most importantly
Howard Baker
and
Robert Byrd
.
[13]
Other supporters included Admiral
Elmo Zumwalt
and General
Maxwell Taylor
;
[14]
John Wayne
, who was friends with Omar Torrijos,
[15]
AFL-CIO
president
George Meany
, statesmen
Averell Harriman
,
Dean Rusk
,
George Ball
,
Henry Cabot Lodge
, and
John Sherman Cooper
, and former first lady
Lady Bird Johnson
.
[16]
More moderate conservatives, including former President
Gerald Ford
and Henry Kissinger, both made public statements in support of the treaty.
[17]
Organized efforts to promote the treaties came from the Committee of Americans for the Canal Treaties and New Directions.
[16]
Many world leaders also came out in support of the treaties, including positive statements from Barbados Prime Minister
Tom Adams
, Bolivian President
Hugo Banzer
, Dominican President
Joaquin Balaguer
, Guatemalan President
Kjell Laugerud
, Guyanese Prime Minister
Forbes Burnham
, Nicaraguan President
Anastasio Somoza
, Peruvian President
Francisco Morales Bermudez
, Chilean President
Augusto Pinochet
, Costa Rican President
Daniel Oduber
, and Venezuelan President
Carlos Andres Perez
.
[18]
Ceremonial Transfer of Canal Zone at Miraflores Locks on 31 December 1999
The treaty laid out a timetable for transfer of the canal, leading to a complete handover of all lands and buildings in the canal area to Panama. The most immediate consequence of this treaty was that the
Canal Zone
, as an entity, ceased to exist on October 1, 1979. The final phase of the treaty was completed on December 31, 1999. On this date, the United States relinquished control of the Panama Canal and all areas in what had been the Panama Canal Zone.
[19]
As a result of the treaties, by the year 2000 nearly 370,000 acres (580?sq?mi; 1,500?km
2
), including some 7,000 buildings, such as military facilities, warehouses, schools, and private residences, were transferred to Panama. In 1993, the Panamanian government created a temporary agency (
Autoridad de la Region Interoceanica
or "Interoceanic Region Authority", commonly referred to as ARI) to administer and maintain the reverted properties.
[
citation needed
]
On the day the treaty took effect, most of the land within the former Canal Zone transferred to Panama. However, the treaty set aside many Canal Zone areas and facilities for transfer during the following 20 years. The treaty specifically categorized areas and facilities by name as "Military Areas of Coordination", "Defense Sites" and "Areas Subject to Separate Bilateral Agreement". These were to be transferred by the U.S. to Panama during certain time windows or simply by the end of the 243-month treaty period.
On October 1, 1979, among the many such parcels so designated in the treaty, 34 emerged as true enclaves (surrounded entirely by land solely under Panamanian jurisdiction). In later years as other areas were turned over to Panama, eight more true enclaves emerged. Of these 42 true enclaves, 14 were related to military logistics, seven were military communications sites, five
Federal Aviation Administration
facilities, five military housing enclaves, three military base areas, two military research facilities, four secondary school parcels, one elementary school, and one hospital. At least 13 other parcels each were encircled not only by land under the absolute jurisdiction of Panama, but also by an "Area of Civil Coordination" (housing) that was subject to elements of both U.S. and Panamanian public law under the treaty.
In addition, the treaty designated numerous areas and individual facilities as "Canal Operating Areas" for joint U.S.?Panama ongoing operations by a commission. On the effective date of the treaty, many of these, including
Madden Dam
, became newly surrounded by the territory of Panama. Just after noon local time on 31 December 1999, all former Canal Zone parcels of all types had come under the exclusive jurisdiction of Panama.
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
- ^
Treaty concerning the permanent neutrality and operation of the Panama Canal, with annexes and protocol
. Signed at Washington on September 7, 1977. Entered into force on October 1, 1979, subject to
amendments, conditions, reservations, and understandings. 33 UST 1;
TIAS 10029
; 1161 UNTS 177.
- ^
Panama Canal Treaty
. Signed at Washington on September 7, 1977. Entered into force October 1, 1979. 33 UST 39;
TIAS 10030
- ^
"
"Si" Ballot for Panamanian Plebiscite on the 1977 Canal Treaties"
.
University of Florida Digital Collections
.
Archived
from the original on July 27, 2021.
- ^
Long, Tom (2015).
Latin America Confronts the United States: Asymmetry and Influence
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp.?76?81.
ISBN
978-1-316-34389-0
.
OCLC
949924794
.
- ^
Jaen Suarez, Omar (2005).
Las negociaciones de los tratados Torrijos-Carter: 1970-1979
(Primera edicion?ed.). Panama: Autoridad del Canal de Panama.
ISBN
9962-607-32-9
.
OCLC
76839311
.
- ^
Long, T. (April 1, 2014).
"Putting the Canal on the Map: Panamanian Agenda-setting and the 1973 Security Council Meetings"
(PDF)
.
Diplomatic History
.
38
(2): 431?455.
doi
:
10.1093/dh/dht096
.
ISSN
0145-2096
.
- ^
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The Carter Administration and Latin America: A Test of Principle
. Carter Center of Emory University.
- ^
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.
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,
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,
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. Retrieved
August 28,
2021
.
- ^
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- ^
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.
- ^
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on December 25, 2005
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
"Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977?1980, Volume XXIX, Panama - Office of the Historian"
.
history.state.gov
. Retrieved
May 2,
2023
.
- ^
"U.S. Senate: Senate Leaders and the Panama Canal Treaties"
.
www.senate.gov
. Retrieved
May 2,
2023
.
- ^
"Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977?1980, Volume XXIX, Panama - Office of the Historian"
.
history.state.gov
. Retrieved
May 2,
2023
.
- ^
"John Wayne Had Lively Correspondence With Presidents Carter, Reagan"
.
AP NEWS
. Retrieved
May 2,
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.
- ^
a
b
"CQ Almanac Online Edition"
.
CQ Press Library
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p.?83.
ISBN
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
"Ceremony transfer of CZ to Panama at Miraflores Locks"
.
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. Archived from
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on March 4, 2016.
- ^
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- ^
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. Retrieved
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- ^
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- ^
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.
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. University of North Georgia.
- J. Michael Hogan;
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, Southern Illinois University Press, 1986
- Thomas Hollihan, "The Public Controversy Over the Panama Canal Treaties: An Analysis of American Foreign Policy Rhetoric,"
Western Journal of Speech Communication
, Fall 1986, p.?371+
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, Cornell University Press, 1985.
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online
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.
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, April 4, 1964. "U.S. and Panama Sign Agreement to Restore Ties", Tad Szulc.
- The New York Times
, April 20, 1964. "Andersen Goes to Panama as President's Special Envoy".
- The New York Times
, February 8, 1974. "
U.S. Agrees to Yield Sovereignty of Canal to Panama
", David Binder.
- The New York Times
, August 9, 1977, "
Canal Negotiators Said to Seek Accord by Tomorrow
", Graham Hovey.
- The New York Times
, August 11, 1977, "
U.S. and Panama Reach Accord to Transfer Canal by year 2000
", Graham Hovey.
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".