I was stationed in Panama for 3 years (mid-80s)....so I have a fair amount of insight to the country and the canal.
First, all the way through the last 70-odd years of US operations of the canal....Panamanians felt it made profit, and they should share in the profit. To be blunt, the incoming fee for transit....if you added up the normal yearly costs....it paid for operations, period. There was never a profit. Added on.....Congress gave the canal tens of millions yearly....to cover upgrades.
Second, since the US left.....ALL of the base properties (Army, Navy and Air Force) have been in a re-use situation. So trying to put 10,000 to 20,000 US troops in the region again....requires a ton of new infrastructure....figure $30-billion minimum.
Third, if you really wanted to throw a 'curve' into the mix.....offer up statehood, and US citizenship to Panamanians (population, 4.5-million). I would imagine over 75-percent of the public would see it as favorable.
Fourth, to fix the water-problem for the canal operation.....you will have to enlarge Lake Gatun....figure at least 25-percent larger than now. Environmentalists freaking out? Oh yeah.
Fifth and final....back in 2017.....they figured around 25,000 Americans permanently living in Panama. Currently, with the crazy expansion in Chiriquí region (NW)....there's probably around 80k to 90k Americans in the country. At the pace of things....by 2035....I would imagine over 200,000 Americans being there.
Chief draw for the Americans? One season weather (really the rainy season and the dry season), low crime, low stress, and cost of living.
