/ Agencia EFE
The United States does not observe weaknesses in the security of the Panama Canal, which it considers “robust,” stated the Chief of Naval Operations of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Daryl Caudle.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened in 2025 to retake the interoceanic passage, built and administered by the U.S. in the 20th century until its handover to Panama on December 31, 1999, alleging a malign Chinese influence over the waterway through which between 3% and 6% of global trade passes.
Trump based that thesis, always denied by the Panamanian government, on the presence of the Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison in the operation of two of the five ports located around the Canal, which has not been the case since last February 23 following an unappealable court ruling that declared the concession, granted nearly 30 years ago and highly questioned in the Central American country, null and void.
“I do not see a weakness in the security of the Panama Canal. In fact, I see a very robust security apparatus here. I can say that, at least for the U.S. ships that pass through here (…) our ships feel they are getting the security they need. And I cannot say anything that is specifically deficient,” Caudle noted.
The current U.S. administration has emphasized “ensuring that China’s influence here was not something we needed to worry about,” said the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy.
“As I have said before, the Canal is a vital part for the flow of naval forces between the Atlantic and the Pacific. It is a national security challenge to ensure that” is possible within the framework of a “current relationship with Panama without a third party like China or any (other) that could effectively influence that” military and commercial flow, the military officer stated.
In a press appearance, he spoke of the strength of relations between Panama and the U.S. and ruled out that his country has intentions to install military bases in the Central American country.
“There is no plan for that,” said Admiral Caudle, who pointed out the work of the two countries to deepen cooperation in the area of regional security and the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking, objectives that are crucial in U.S. defense policy, as he explained.
The agreements between Panama and the U.S.
Amid Trump’s criticism of the presence of the Hong Kong operator in the ports near the Canal, the U.S. and Panama signed a security memorandum in 2025 that expands joint training on Panamanian territory.
This generated criticism from Panamanian political sectors who accused an alleged cession of sovereignty, which was rejected by the government of President José Raúl Mulino, who said that more than twenty similar agreements had been signed in recent decades.
Authorities from both countries defended the renewed cooperation framework, arguing that it strengthens the bilateral alliance to combat drug trafficking, organized crime, and for the defense of the interoceanic passage.
