U.S. Role in Panama's Separation from Colombia: Treaty, Not Rebels

The U.S. did not back rebel groups to declare Panama's independence. Instead:

1. 1903 Hay–Herrán Treaty: Negotiated between U.S. and Colombia for canal zone lease. Colombia's Senate rejected it.
2. Panamanian separatists (led by local elites, supported by U.S. agents like Philippe Bunau-Varilla) declared independence Nov 3, 1903.
3. U.S. warships (USS Nashville) prevented Colombian troop movement across the isthmus—de facto recognition.
4. Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty (Nov 18, 1903): New Panamanian government granted U.S. canal rights in perpetuity.

So: U.S. facilitated the success of a local separatist movement (via naval presence and diplomatic recognition), but did not "support rebels to declare independence" in the sense of arming or funding an insurgency. The separation was a negotiated geopolitical maneuver.