The United States is returning to Panama. Unlike its invasion of the country in 1989 as part of what it called “Operation Just Cause” to depose leader Manuel Noriega, this time, it managed to get Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino to capitulate without firing a shot.
On Wednesday, both countries signed a military pact which allowed US troops to be deployed at three former military bases – Fort Sherman, Rodman Naval Base and Howard Air Force Base. [Note: The last US troops were pulled out from the country in 1999].
And it includes a deal with the Panama Canal Authority which would allow US warships and auxiliary ships “first and free” passage through the canal that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic and is a chief conduit for global trade.
The agreement was reached after a three-day visit by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who declared that “the Panama Canal is key terrain that must be secured by Panama, with America, and not China”.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that US soldiers and military personnel were deployed to Panama as part of the deal, telling reporters, “We’ve moved a lot of troops to Panama”.
Despite an insistence by the Panamanian government that these are not “military bases” and that the deal is temporary, the opposition believe the US has re-established its military presence in the country. In fact, they have labeled it as a “camouflaged invasion”.
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One down and two more to go.
Your next priorities are to bring Canada and Greenland into the US fold.
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