Latest news with #NationalAeronavalService
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
US deploys forces to Panama Canal: Week-long PANAMAX-Alpha exercise begins; defense secretary warns of China's 'maligned influence'
The United States and Panama have launched PANAMAX-Alpha Phase I, a week-long joint military training operation focused on regional security and emergency preparedness for the Panama Canal. The exercise, scheduled from July 13 to 18, 2025, aims to enhance strategic preparedness near the Panama Canal against "threats to the security of the Panama Canal and other strategic infrastructure," according to Panama's National Aeronaval Service. The military exercise is being operated by Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-B) of the US Southern Command, with personnel from Panama's National Aeronaval Service, National Police, and National Border Service participating. PANAMAX-Alpha Phase I follows PANAMAX-Alpha Phase 0, which was held in April 2025 involving the United States and Panama, conducted by JTF-Bravo and supported by the US Southern Command. JTF-Bravo UH-60 Blackhawk out of Soto Can Air Base, Honduras (Pic credit: @JTF_Bravo/X) In April, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an expanded security partnership between the United States and Panama to reinforce protection of the Panama Canal from "China's maligned influence" in the region. The announcement was made during a three-day security conference in Panama City, where Hegseth said, "The Panama Canal is key terrain that must be secured by Panama, with America, and not China," according to the US Department of Defense. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like For the chosen ones! 4&5 Bed Condominiums at Financial District, Hyd Sumadhura Group Learn More Undo He added that "[China's] growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot and will not stand." PANAMAX-Alpha Phase I involves the deployment of two UH-60 Black Hawks and one CH-47 Chinook helicopter, along with boarding and disembarking operations, fast rope insertion, rescue crane extraction, and communication exercises on maritime platforms. The US Southern Command shared images of simulated Panama Canal security operations on X (formerly Twitter). These drills are being conducted at the Teniente Octavio Rodríguez Garrido Air Base (Panama Pacific), Almirante Cristóbal Colón Naval Air Base (Colón), and Salvador Córdoba Major Air Base (Darién). The Panama Canal serves as a key maritime route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The waterway was built by the US beginning in 1904 and has been under Panama's control since 1999.
Express Tribune
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
About 100 migrants, including Pakistanis, moved to Darien jungle after US deportation
Members of Panama's National Aeronaval Service police (SENAN) stand outside the hotel where migrants from Asia and the Middle East are housed after being deported to Panama as part of an agreement between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Central American nation, in Panama City, Panama on February 18, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS Listen to article A group of nearly 100 migrants deported from the US to Panama last week has been moved from a hotel in the capital to the Darien jungle region in the south of the country, Panama's government said on Wednesday. The migrants include people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to Panama's president, Jose Raul Mulino, who has agreed with the US to receive non-Panamanian deportees. In a statement, Panama's security ministry said of the 299 migrants deported from the US in recent days, 13 had been repatriated to their countries of origin while another 175 remained in the hotel in Panama City awaiting onward journeys after agreeing to return home. The migrants have been staying at the hotel under the protection of local authorities and with the financial support of the United States through the UN-related International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency, according to the Panamanian government. The deportation of non-Panamanian migrants to Panama is part of the Trump administration's attempt to ramp up deportations of migrants living in the US illegally. One of the challenges of Trump's plan is that some migrants come from countries that refuse to accept US deportation flights due to strained diplomatic relations or other reasons. The arrangement with Panama allows the US to deport these nationalities and makes it Panama's responsibility to organize their repatriation. The process has been criticized by human rights groups that worry migrants could be mistreated and also fear for their safety if they are ultimately returned to violent or war-torn countries of origin, such as Afghanistan. The security ministry statement said 97 migrants had been transferred to the shelter in the Darien region, which includes dense and lawless jungle separating Central America from South America. In recent years, it has become a corridor for hundreds of thousands of migrants aiming to reach the United States. Eight more migrants would be moved there soon, the statement added. On Wednesday, the hotel in Panama City where the migrants had been held appeared quiet, according to a Reuters witness. On Tuesday some migrants had been seen holding hands and looking out of a window of the hotel to get the attention of reporters outside. Migrants in the hotel were not allowed to leave, according to media reports. A Chinese national, Zheng Lijuan, escaped from the hotel, according to Panama's migration service, but was later caught in Costa Rica and returned to Panama.
Express Tribune
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Migrants in Panama moved to Darien jungle region
Members of Panama's National Aeronaval Service police (SENAN) stand outside the hotel where migrants from Asia and the Middle East are housed after being deported to Panama as part of an agreement between the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Central American nation, in Panama City, Panama February 18, 2025. Photo Reuters A group of migrants deported from the US to Panama last week were moved on Tuesday night from a hotel in the capital to the Darien jungle region in the south of the country, a lawyer representing a migrant family told Reuters on Wednesday. Susana Sabalza, a Panamanian migration lawyer, said the family she represents was transferred to Meteti, a town in the Darien, along with other deported migrants. La Estrella de Panama, a local daily, reported on Wednesday that 170 of the 299 migrants who had been in the hotel were moved to the Darien. Panama's government did not respond to a request for comment. The 299 migrants have been staying at a hotel in Panama City under the protection of local authorities and with the financial support of the United States through the UN-related International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency, according to the Panamanian government. The migrants include people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to Panama's president, Jose Raul Mulino, who has agreed with the US to receive non-Panamanian deportees. The deportation of non-Panamanian migrants to Panama is part of the Trump administration's attempt to ramp up deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally. One of the challenges to Trump's plan is that some migrants come from countries that refuse to accept US deportation flights, due to strained diplomatic relations or other reasons.
