Carter’s Panama Canal Treaties Symbolize How Much Washington Has Changed NYT | Top Stories Peter Baker 3 January 2025 at 08:09 To return the canal to Panama, President Jimmy Carter worked to change minds and build a bipartisan coalition that put aside short-term political considerations. © Charles Tasnadi/Associated PressPresident Jimmy Carter at the Panama Canal in June 1978, when he visited to finalize treaties that would turn over the waterway to Panama.