Why did the US encourage Panamanians to revolt against Colombia in 1903?

To defeat the onslaught of "Zombies". It's a little-known fact that at that time, there was an influenza spreading which caused the skin to bubble and become a sickly yellow colour. The infected had a fever so severe, they acted as if they weren't themselves, thus causing people to call it the "zombie disease". There was an outbreak in Columbiana, and the people were growing scared and threatening to move to other countries, so President Roosevelt sent in troops to support the Panamanians - who were trying to ward off the infected.