White House has asked U.S. military to develop options for the Panama Canal, officials say
WASHINGTON — The White House has directed the U.S. military to draw up options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama to achieve President Trump’s goal of “reclaiming” the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning.
During a joint address to Congress last week, Trump said, "to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.” Since then, administration officials have not said what "reclaiming" means.
U.S. Southern Command is developing potential plans that vary from partnering more closely with the Panamanian military to the less likely option of U.S. troops seizing the Panama Canal by force, the officials said. Whether military force is used, the officials added, depends on how much the Panamanian military agrees to partner with the U.S.
The Trump administration’s goal is to increase the U.S. military presence in Panama to diminish China’s influence there, particularly access to the canal, the officials said.
Both Panama and China deny there is any foreign interference in the 50-mile canal, whose neutrality is enshrined in Panama’s Constitution. Chinese officials have accused the U.S. of using "coercion" to pressure Panamanian officials to block Chinese aid projects.
The U.S. officials told NBC News that the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Adm. Alvin Holsey, presented draft strategies to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week. Hegseth is expected to visit Panama next month.
The officials cautioned that a U.S. invasion of Panama is unlikely and would only come under serious consideration if a larger American military presence in Panama does not achieve President Donald Trump’s goal of reclaiming the waterway, the officials said.
Neither the Pentagon nor the Panamanian Embassy in Washington immediately responded to a request for comment.
Trump has said he intends to return ownership of the canal to the U.S. after Panama gained control of the area more than a quarter century ago under a treaty signed by the Carter administration.
Privately, Trump has told his advisers that he sees a U.S. military presence in Panama and on the canal itself as critical to that effort, the U.S. officials said. Trump has also made it clear that he wants U.S. service members to be visible in the canal zone as a show of force.
Trump administration officials have argued that China has too large a presence near the canal. In the event of a conflict, they say, Beijing could shut down the canal to American shipping, including military ships.
During a visit to Panama last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino that “the status quo is unacceptable” regarding China’s presence in Panama. Mulino has said the Panamanian government alone administers the canal and denied ceding operation of the canal to China in any way.
Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian criticized the U.S. after Panama declined to renew a key infrastructure agreement with China. Lin said that China's investments in Panama were part of its Belt and Road development initiative and “firmly opposes the U.S. smearing and undermining the Belt and Road cooperation through means of pressure and coercion.”
The U.S. military currently has more than 200 troops in Panama but the number fluctuates as troops rotate in and out, according to a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Some of those troops include Special Forces units working with Panamanian forces to protect the country from internal threats, insurgencies or unrest.
Potential administration strategies include simply ensuring that U.S. ships have safe passage through the canal, to restoring total U.S. ownership and operation of the passageway, officials said. Other options under consideration include using the U.S. military to secure existing ports in Panama, to build new ports in Panama or using the Army Corps of Engineers to operate the canal’s locks, officials said.
There are also discussions about opening Army Jungle Schools, or training camps, in Panama, like the ones U.S. troops trained in jungle warfare until the canal was formally handed over to Panama in 1999.
One other focus of the ongoing planning is potentially positioning U.S. military forces near Panama in the event of a regional war or a threat to the U.S. In that scenario, the U.S. military would aim to secure the Panama Canal and eliminate China’s access to the critical waterway. American officials cautioned that the U.S. would only block Chinese transit through the canal in the event of war.
The Panama Canal is one of the world’s busiest waterways, with the majority of the cargo that passes through it originating in the U.S. or heading to the U.S. If the Panama Canal were blocked, ships would have to transit around South America, sharply increasing the cost and time of each voyage.
The U.S. constructed the canal from 1904 to 1914 after a failed French effort. In 1977, after long-running protests by Panamanians, President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty that turned control of the canal over to Panama. In 1989, during the George H.W. Bush administration, U.S. forces invaded Panama and ousted the country’s leader, Manuel Noriega, who was later convicted of drug trafficking.
In his joint address to Congress last week, Trump said that the U.S. was already moving to limit Chinese presence in the canal. “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 U.S. investment company BlackRock is part of a group buying a 90% stake in the Panama Ports Company, which operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal. The stake is being purchased from a Hong Kong-based firm, CK Hutchinson, for $22.8 billion.
