The administrator of the Panama Canal said Friday that the vital waterway will remain in Panamanian hands and open to commerce from all countries, rejecting claims by President-elect Donald Trump that the United States should take it over.

In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump reiterated threats he has made about the Panama Canal, claiming, "we're taking it back." He'd previously declared that the rates Panama charges for access to the Panama Canal violated the “magnanimous gesture” the U.