"This one was really hard," Herischi recalled. "It said, 'Please don't let this situation affect us for the rest of our lives. It's become too much — the situation that we are [in]. I think it's going to create a scar in my son and all of us forever.

Trump threatened to take back the canal because of what he called Chinese influence. CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong company, is selling its control in a firm that ran two ports on the canal.

Officials from Panama City Beach Police and the Bay County Sheriff's Office reiterated that trouble is not welcome during spring break in PCB.

BlackRock's involvement signals a shift from a Hong Kong-based company to a US-led consortium, aligning with Trump's strategy.

China’s presence in Panama has expanded rapidly, sparking fears in Washington. But Panama has already started shifting its allegiances and announced the transfer of major container ports to a US-led consortium.

“Panama cannot end up becoming a black hole for deported migrants,” said Juan Pappier, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in the Americas. “Migrants have the right to communicate with their families, to seek lawyers and Panama must guarantee transparency about the situation in which they find themselves.”