Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading to Panama City, Panama, on Monday, for a two-day visit to attend the 2025 Central American Security Conference and meet with American troops stationed there.
“The Secretary will meet with partner-nation senior civilian, military, and security leadership in a series of bilateral meetings that will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
The annual conference will be co-hosted by the U.S. and Panama, and will focus on regional defense through joint operations and cybersecurity, according to U.S. Southern Command.
At the same time, 50 U.S. Marines, in addition to sailors and soldiers, will train alongside Panamanian service members from the Panamanian National Aeronaval Service. As part of the training, the crews of four F-18 Hornets, one C-130 Hercules, one P-8 Poseidon, the USS Chosin and USS Normandy, and the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball will arrive in Panama, Southcom said in a release. According to the Marine Corps, Panamanian and U.S. Marines will train together on naval infantry skills, including marksmanship, land navigation, planning and orders development, and jungle warfare.
Hegseth’s visit to Panama takes place as President Donald Trump has called on Panama to give the U.S. better terms on access to the Panama Canal, which the U.S. built in 1914 but agreed to hand over to Panama under President Jimmy Carter. The canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is vital for American military and commercial shipping. Trump has raised concerns about the canal being controlled by China, which Panama has denied.
On March 4, under Trump, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchinson Holding agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports in the canal to a consortium including BlackRock, Inc. — a deal that effectively put the ports under American control. As reported by the Associated Press, the deal gave the consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including at both ends of the Panama Canal, as well as in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere.
During his Joint Address to Congress in March, Trump called for reclaiming the canal. He said in his remarks:
To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it. Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals.
The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others, but others could use it. But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure. Thirty-eight thousand workers died building the Panama Canal. They died of malaria. They died of snake bites and mosquitoes. Not a nice place to work. They paid them very highly to go there, knowing there was a 25 percent chance that they would die. The most expensive project, also, that was ever built in our country’s history, if you bring it up to modern-day costs.
It was given away by the Carter administration for $1, but that agreement has been violated very severely. We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.
Even before his address, Trump talked about the U.S. getting ripped off by “exorbitant” transit fees.
U.S. troops have long been stationed in Panama, to conduct training exercises and exchanges with Panamanian forces, including recent joint training exercises with the countries’ special operations forces.
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