The military planning behind Trump’s statements to get the Panama Canal.
The military planning behind Trump’s statements to get the Panama Canal.
By Oscar Rotundo
With Donald Trump’s assumption of the presidency of the United States, a new chapter opened in the geopolitical relations between the northern power and the rest of the world. Among the various projects announced by the US administration, three resonated strongly on our continent: one related to the tariff policy it would impose on countries exporting to the US, on products produced or potentially produced here; another related to the intention to obtain Greenland by any means; and the third issue, raised by Trump himself, regarding the recovery of control of the Panama Canal.
The alleged US control of the Panama Canal has been based on two arguments: one, based on China’s presence in the canal, and the other, based on the services the United States pays for using it.
Regarding China’s presence in the canal, we can say that the private Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, headquartered in Hong Kong, is a partner of state-owned companies Costco and China Merchants and has operated two strategic ports in Panama, Balboa and Cristóbal, for more than 25 years. Together with the other two companies, they operate the Brazilian port of Paranaguá and the Peruvian port of Chancay.
Given the pressure exerted by the Trump administration, the group decided to divest itself of these assets, for which several interested parties came forward, one of them being the consortium headed by BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and integrated by Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited.
It is estimated that around 3% of global maritime trade passes through the ports of Balboa, on the Pacific side of the canal, and Cristobal, on the Atlantic side.
The Port of Balboa, operated by CK Hutchison Holdings, is the second busiest container port in Panama and the number one transshipment terminal in Latin America with a potential annual capacity of 5 million TEUs (20-foot Container Equivalent Units).
Balboa provides services to various shipping lines for the loading, unloading, and transshipment of goods to the region. It has five docks for container ships, operating 25 gantry cranes.
Cristóbal has the lowest container throughput, with 1.38 million TEUs according to 2024 data.
BlackRock, the world’s largest investment fund, and its new infrastructure division, Global Infrastructure Partners and Geneva-based Terminal Investments acquired 90% of the company’s shares from CK Hutchison Holdings in a global transaction valued at $22.8 billion that includes port assets in 43 terminals located in 23 countries.
Controlling ports provides influence over prices, delivery times, and routes, which take on strategic importance in the context of the Trump administration’s tariff war, given that the U.S. is the largest user of the Panama Canal, with 74.7% of cargo traffic moving through the interoceanic waterway in fiscal year 2024.
Beyond President Trump’s narrative about Chinese influence in strategic infrastructure in the region, arguing that it represents a risk to U.S. national security, his administration is seeking, with this acquisition by the American conglomerate, to gain a commercial advantage and a contribution to its already deteriorating finances.
The military hand of the master of the north
To address the multifaceted issue of the “canal,” Trump has asked the Pentagon to develop plans to retake the Panama Canal. These plans involve the Southern Command and would include sending US troops to coordinate with Panamanian authorities regarding the continued presence of this military force in the country. If the Panamanian government or its military forces do not agree to such a strategy, the use of force would be considered.
The memorandum, titled “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” which addresses these options for “ensuring fair and unrestricted U.S. military and commercial access to the Panama Canal,” has already been delivered by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to senior officials.
Prior to this memorandum, Panama and the United States had signed a series of agreements that are already being implemented, despite the media spat between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Panamanian counterpart over the interoceanic canal.
In mid-February of this year, the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security and the Southern Command (SOCSOUTH) agreed to “establish a framework for long-term collaborative training,” which “highlights the shared commitment to regional security.” Under this agreement, the Panamanian Public Forces are subordinate to “the most lethal combat force in the world,” the Southern Command, within their own country.
The agreement will allow personnel from the 7th Space Forces Group (7th SFG) to conduct combined training programs throughout 2025, which would be aimed at members of the 5th Special Forces Brigade of the National Border Service (SENAFRONT), Naval Air Commands of the National Aeronaval Service (SENAN), National Directorate of Special Forces of the National Police (PNP) and the Special Anti-Terrorism Group of the Institutional Protection Service (SPI).
In February, the Seventh Special Forces and Civil Affairs teams participated in “combined training” with Panamanian troops on advanced marksmanship skills to “counter threats while strengthening strategic dialogue.” Additionally, “civilian-military support” is also being considered to “strengthen and enhance the long-term security” of the Panama Canal.
Along the same security lines, Southern Command and the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) signed a cyber cooperation agreement aimed at “strengthening digital security and ensuring the operational continuity of critical infrastructure in the face of emerging cyber threats.”
This way, U.S. military personnel will have access to key areas of supply chain cybersecurity and will be able to access technical information with the approval of the ACP. According to the signed agreement, Southern Command “will collaborate with the Panama Canal to optimize joint cybersecurity efforts” and thus strengthen the “existing collaboration” between the agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
For Alvin Holsey, head of the U.S. Southern Command, the Panama Canal is critical due to its “strategic importance,” hence his visit to the Central American nation to discuss this security alliance with senior local officials.
But there is more to this military propaganda.
Panama is considering developing an 80-kilometer gas pipeline across the isthmus, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as part of the country’s expansion of its business linked to the Panama Canal.
Canal administrator Ricaute Vásquez estimates that the “movement of liquefied petroleum gas” is “highly relevant to the canal” and that its demand “will double in the next 10 years.” He believes that the pipeline would allow liquefied petroleum gas from the U.S. East Coast (the Louisiana coast) to reach Panama’s Atlantic coast and then be transported to the Pacific coast and from there to Asian markets, especially Japan.
The magnitude of the strategically planned business package is what truly motivates the United States to develop an accelerated landing with the help of the Panamanian right wing, which, beyond the formalities and verbiage, has accompanied the consummation of this colonial enclave, which is presented as a regional military beachhead.
It wasn’t just the Chinese presence, or the cost of the services provided by the canal; it was undoubtedly the imperialist aspirations of this new oligarchic elite, which, in its Monroeist redeployment, conceives that Our America belongs to them.
For the Panamanian people, what’s at stake is something much more complex than their economic prosperity; it’s their sovereignty and their ability to exist as a nation.
Cover graph: Picture taken during the US invasion of Panama in 1988.