Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel next week to Panama, where President Donald Trump has made headlines with his calls to take control of the famed Panama Canal, the Defense Department announced on Friday.
Hegseth will leave the United States early next week for a trip to Panama City, Panama to participate in the 2025 Central American Security Conference.
“The Secretary will meet with partner-nation senior civilian, military, and security leadership in a series of bilateral meetings that will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere,” chief spokesman Sean Parnell said.
After the Panama segment of the trip, the Defense Secretary will head to Eglin Air Force Base in the western Florida panhandle “to visit service members and command leadership at 7th Special Forces Group.”
The visit comes after President Donald Trump said in his joint address to Congress that he plans to reclaim the Panama Canal. “We didn’t give it to China; we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” the president said in early March.
This was not the first time the president had articulated interest in Panama Canal. In December, he expressed frustration about the fees Panama charges the U.S. to use the canal, saying in a Truth Social post: “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.”
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino responded to Trump’s March remarks by accusing Trump of lying, writing in an “X” post: “Once again, President Trump is lying. The Panama Canal is not in the process of being restored, and this is certainly not the task that was even discussed in our conversations with Secretary Rubio or anyone else.”
“I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation,” he wrote. “Cooperation between our governments requires clear understandings on issues of mutual interest, as has been done. It has nothing to do with the ‘recovery of the Canal’ or with tarnishing our national sovereignty. The Canal is Panamanian and will continue to be Panamanian!”
Nuevamente miente el Presidente Trump. El Canal de Panamá no está en proceso de recuperación y mucho menos es la tarea que en nuestras conversaciones con el Secretario Rubio ni ningún otro se haya ni siquiera conversado. Rechazo a nombre de Panamá y de todos los panameños esta…
— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) March 5, 2025
