Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that he could "feel" the communism on his recent trip to Panama as the Trump administration continues to threaten an annexing of the country's vital canal.

Repeating claims that Beijing controls the Panama Canal, Hegseth's comments came during a bizarre interview with one of his former Fox News colleagues, Maria Bartiromo.

"I want to thank President Molina, a pro-Trump, pro-America president of Panama who’s sticking his neck out against communists, whose influence was real there," Hegseth said on Sunday. "Maria, you could see it, you could feel it."

Both President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly claimed that China has taken control of the crucial Panama Canal shipping lane, despite reassurances from Panamas authorities that this isn't true.

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"China has too much influence over the Panama Canal and America is going to take it back," Hegseth told Bartiromo. "China's influence cannot control our own backyard, especially a critical waterway, key terrain, like the Panama Canal."

The Panama Canal was returned by the US in 1999 under President Jimmy Carter's Torrijos–Carter Treaties. It has since been under the complete control of Panama's democratically elected government.

"We're going to have a larger US presence at the invitation of Panama," Hegseth said. "Working with them to keep the communist Chinese out."

Anger is growing in Panama over Trump's threats of aggression, with the opposition party recently speaking of a "camouflaged invasion" by the US.