On 8 April US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino during a three-day visit to Panama.
Analysis:
Hegseth, whose visit comes as Panama and the US are co-hosting the Central America Security Conference (Centsec) from 8-10 April, is the second top US official to pay a visit to Panama since US President Donald Trump took office in January, following that of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February. It comes amid US-Panama tensions following Trump’s earlier threat to reclaim the Panama Canal, citing claims of Chinese interference. The Mulino administration has rejected Trump’s claims while seeking to offer concessions, while a deal was announced last month regarding the sale by Hong Kong-based, and ultimately China-controlled, holding company CK Hutchison of its stake in two key Panamanian ports to a conglomerate led by US investment firm BlackRock. During his visit, Hegseth, who also met Panama’s Security Minister Frank Ábrego and the administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), Ricaurte Vásquez, has struck a conciliatory note, however. He acknowledged concessions made by the Mulino government such as its termination of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s flagship infrastructure programme, declaring that the government’s “hard work is making a difference” and efforts to keep the Panama Canal secure would be done “together with Panama in the lead” – suggesting an easing of tensions for now.
- Speaking yesterday, Hegseth said the US “will not allow Communist China or any other country to threaten the Canal’s operation or integrity.” However, in contrast to Trump’s threat to reclaim the waterway, he underlined cooperation, stating the two countries have “done more in recent weeks to strengthen our defence and security cooperation than we have in decades” and efforts to keep the Canal secure would be undertaken “in partnership with Panama”.
- A joint statement by Mulino, Hegseth, and Vásquez recognised the “robust foundation and legacy of bilateral security cooperation”, highlighting over US$230m in assistance from the US State and Defence Departments to Panama in the past five years.
- With Panama having also agreed to act as a bridge for migrants from third countries, in line with Trump’s mass deportation drive, the joint statement cites Hegseth as congratulating Mulino on “Panama’s efforts to reduce illegal immigration and for closing the border in [the] Darién [Gap]” – the lawless jungle area bordering Colombia, which hitherto served as a key migration route northwards.
- The US version of the joint statement however omitted a key sentence included in the Panamanian government’s version: that “Hegseth recognised Panama’s leadership and inalienable sovereignty over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas”.
- The joint statement also announced a string of other agreements. These include, inter alia: plans to collaborate to boost Panama’s security capabilities through an MoU that will enable increased bilateral activities between the US military and Panamanian security forces; a reinvigoration of the annual High-Level Security Dialogue (HLSD) between the two countries; and the signing of a joint statement of understanding between Ábrego and Admiral Alvin Holsey, the head of the US Southern Command (Southcom), who is in Panama for the Centsec, for “enhanced security cooperation”.
Looking Ahead: While Hegseth’s conciliatory tone might provide some breathing space for the Mulino government, this easing of tensions could prove short-lived given Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy. Meanwhile uncertainty persists regarding the sale of the two Panamanian ports to the US-led consortium, following both Chinese opposition to the deal, and the recent findings of an audit which showed irregularities, prompting Panama’s attorney general’s office to announce an investigation yesterday.
