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First Post
14-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
US conducts military drills at Panama Canal amid tensions over China's influence on key trade route
To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on Sunday – two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook – landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base read more A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, September 2, 2024. File Image/AP The United States military teamed with Panamanian police to conduct a series of new exercises aimed at protecting the Panama Canal, amid tensions over alleged Chinese influence along the prized trade route. To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on Sunday – two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook – landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base. Michael Palacios, subcommissioner of Panama's National Aeronaval Service – known as SENAN – said the exercises would prepare Panama's forces, as well as countries in the region, against any threats to the security and defense of the canal. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US soldiers conducted similar exercises in Panama a month ago, under a bilateral agreement that allows Washington to use Panamanian air and naval bases for training without establishing its own bases. The agreement sparked protests in the Central American country, and came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to reclaim the canal. He has repeatedly claimed that China has too much influence over the canal, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade. In April, Trump called for the free transit of American commercial and military ships through the inter-oceanic route, claiming the canal would 'not exist' without the US. But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the toll fees are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body overseeing the trade route. US presence in Panama remains a sensitive issue, as it evokes a time when Washington had an enclave of military bases in the country before the canal was handed over to Panamanians on the last day of 1999. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD SENAN officials said the US maneuvers will last until Friday and will respect 'national sovereignty.' Palacios said the exercise has been held for 23 years.
France 24
14-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
US conducts military exercises at Panama Canal
To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on Sunday -- two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook -- landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base. Michael Palacios, subcommissioner of Panama's National Aeronaval Service -- known as SENAN -- said the exercises would prepare Panama's forces, as well as countries in the region, against any threats to the security and defense of the canal. US soldiers conducted similar exercises in Panama a month ago, under a bilateral agreement that allows Washington to use Panamanian air and naval bases for training without establishing its own bases. The agreement sparked protests in the Central American country, and came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to reclaim the canal. He has repeatedly claimed that China has too much influence over the canal, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade. In April, Trump called for the free transit of American commercial and military ships through the inter-oceanic route, claiming the canal would "not exist" without the US. But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the toll fees are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body overseeing the trade route. US presence in Panama remains a sensitive issue, as it evokes a time when Washington had an enclave of military bases in the country before the canal was handed over to Panamanians on the last day of 1999. SENAN officials said the US maneuvers will last until Friday and will respect "national sovereignty." Palacios said the exercise has been held for 23 years.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US conducts military exercises at Panama Canal
The United States military teamed with Panamanian police to conduct a series of new exercises aimed at protecting the Panama Canal, amid tensions over alleged Chinese influence along the prized trade route. To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on Sunday -- two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook -- landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base. Michael Palacios, subcommissioner of Panama's National Aeronaval Service -- known as SENAN -- said the exercises would prepare Panama's forces, as well as countries in the region, against any threats to the security and defense of the canal. US soldiers conducted similar exercises in Panama a month ago, under a bilateral agreement that allows Washington to use Panamanian air and naval bases for training without establishing its own bases. The agreement sparked protests in the Central American country, and came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to reclaim the canal. He has repeatedly claimed that China has too much influence over the canal, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade. In April, Trump called for the free transit of American commercial and military ships through the inter-oceanic route, claiming the canal would "not exist" without the US. But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the toll fees are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body overseeing the trade route. US presence in Panama remains a sensitive issue, as it evokes a time when Washington had an enclave of military bases in the country before the canal was handed over to Panamanians on the last day of 1999. SENAN officials said the US maneuvers will last until Friday and will respect "national sovereignty." Palacios said the exercise has been held for 23 years. jjr/val/sla/st Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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.
