Pete Hegsteh lands in Panama amid fight for control of the canal

The defense secretary is visiting the country after the results of an audit showed that the subsidiary of the Hong Kong company Hutchison Holdings has breached the contract that allows it to operate two ports in the Panama Canal.

Published by

Williams Perdomo

April 8, 2025

1 minute read

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived Monday in Panama amid the fight for control of the canal. President Donald Trump insists on taking back the Panama Canal because of China's influence on this interoceanic route.

Hegseth arrived in the evening hours at Panama Pacifico Airport, in the Arraijan district, west of Panama City. The U.S. official, AFP explained, will meet on Tuesday with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino and visit the maritime route, built by the U.S. and inaugurated in 1914.

Despite the fact that the canal has been under Panamanian sovereignty since 1999 by international treaties, Trump has threatened to take it back, without ruling out the use of force.

Panama says Chinese company breached contract to operate ports in canal

The result of an audit released Monday by Panamanian authorities showed that the subsidiary of the Chinese company Hutchison Holdings has breached the contract that allows it to operate two ports in the Panama Canal.

Panamanian Comptroller General Anel Flores said that "there are many breaches" of the concession contract granted in 1997, and renewed for another 25 years in 2021 to Panama Ports, a subsidiary of Hutchison, for the operation of two ports.

According to the official, among other irregularities, Panama has not received from the company 1.2 billion dollars for its operations in the ports of Balboa (Pacific) and Cristobal (Atlantic).

Washington considers it a threat to national and regional security that a Hong Kong company operates two ports at the ends of the canal, through which 5% of the world's maritime trade passes.