Potential plans range from partnering more closely with Panamanian security forces to a less likely option of U.S. troops' seizing the canal by force, U.S. officials told NBC News.

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. military to draw up options for retaking the Panama Canal.

NBC News' Courtney Kube reports on the Trump administration directing the U.S. military to begin developing options for the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to “take back” the Panama Canal but has not offered specifics about how he would do so. Here is an explanation of the history and laws governing the critical waterway.

The White House has asked the United States military to draw up plans for how it might seize the Panama Canal “by force,” a bombshell report revealed Thursday. The alleged directive comes a week after President Donald Trump told lawmakers in his joint address to Congress he would be “reclaiming” the vital waterway to “further enhance our national security.