Why did the United States support rebel groups to declare their independence from Colombia and form the country of Panama?a. The Colombian government had been blocking U.S. plans to build a canal in Panama.
b. The United States wanted to promote the spread of democracy throughout Latin America.
c. The Spanish controlled Colombia and refused to allow U.S. merchants to trade in the country.
d. The Panamanian rebels were in control of important trade routes that the United States needed to access.

Answer:

The correct answer is A. The United States supported rebel groups to declare their independence from Colombia and form the country of Panama because the Colombian government had been blocking U.S. plans to build a canal in Panama.

Explanation:

Panama declared its independence from Spain on November 28, 1821. However, it did not become an independent state, as the assembly of citizens decided to join Gran Colombia, which they joined as the Department of Panama.

In the 1850s, a separatist sentiment arose in Panama. The reason for the dissatisfaction of the Panamanian people was that most of the revenue from transport through the isthmus of Panama was sent to Colombia as taxes. This intensified especially after the US built a railway line connecting the shores of both oceans separated by the Panama Isthmus. Of the 250,000 dollars paid to Colombia for land and railroad rights, only 25,000 went to Panama.

Buyers and landowners were able to compensate for the inconvenience resulting from Colombia's centralist tendencies through the large profits arising from the construction of the Panama Canal. Their mood changed in 1889, when the French project to connect the two oceans collapsed. Panamanian nationalists took up arms during the Thousand Days War, the Colombian Civil War between 1899 and 1902.  

Colombian Conservatives won the war, while Panama was a stronghold of liberals. The separation of this territory from the rest of the country was determined by Colombia's relations with the USA. They signed the Hay-Harran Treaty on January 22, 1903, under which the United States was granted the right to build and sovereign use of the Panama Canal for 100 years. This agreement, however, was not ratified by the Colombian parliament (the decision was made in August), which prompted the US government to look for an alternative way to take over the inter-oceanic area. In July 1903, Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero, at the head of a group of Panama owners, began lobbying in the USA for the independence of Panama. After receiving the Colombian refusal, Theodore Roosevelt immediately supported Guerrero's proposals. In September, the Panamanian nationalists began intense independence agitation. Independence was announced on November 3, 1903, in the city of Panama. American ships stopped the Colombians from transporting the army by sea to Panama, and the US-controlled railroad refused to transport soldiers by land. The local garrison was bribed and did not intervene. The independent Republic of Panama was recognized de facto by the US government on November 6 and de jure on November 13.