Bush supports expansion of Panama Canal

PANAMA CITY, Panama — President Bush voiced his support on Monday for expanding the Panama Canal to allow bigger ships and more cargo to pass through the shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Bush said Panama must acknowledge that the 50-mile waterway "is to be used by everybody, that the canal is international, that there ought to be ... equal access."

Panama is studying plans for widening and deepening the canal that could cost nearly $10 billion. The project first must be approved in a national referendum.

White House officials were careful before Bush's visit to remain neutral, saying the canal's future should be decided by Panamanian voters.

But, the president said: "It's in our nation's interest that this canal be modernized."

Panama City was Bush's last stop on a Latin American trip that also took him to Argentina and Brazil.