Panama defends US maneuvers in its territory and denies any plan against Venezuela

The president of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, denied Thursday that the military maneuvers being conducted by the U.S. military in Panamanian territory are linked to "any hostile act against Venezuela."

During his weekly press conference, the president responded to concerns about the presence of U.S. troops in the Darien jungle, bordering Colombia, and at a police base located on the Caribbean coast. Mulino affirmed that the exercises are strictly for training purposes and are not part of any diplomatic or military pressure operation towards Caracas.

"Panama is not lending its territory for any kind of hostile act against Venezuela or any other country in the world," the president assured according to the AFP report. "One has nothing to do with the other," he added.

The U.S. exercises in Panama coincide with a U.S. naval operation in the Caribbean and Pacific against drug trafficking, an initiative that the Nicolás Maduro regime has denounced as an attempt at political destabilization.

The naval deployment - which includes the world's largest aircraft carrier, added this week to operations in Caribbean waters - intensified after Washington accused Maduro of leading international drug trafficking networks. Since then, U.S. forces have intercepted some 20 vessels, resulting in the death of 76 alleged drug traffickers, described by the Pentagon as "narco-terrorists."

Mulino recalled that the military cooperation between Panama and the United States is developed under the bilateral security agreement signed in April 2025, which allows Washington to use, with Panamanian authorization, air and naval bases for training activities during an initial period of three years, extendable.

The agreement was signed in a context of tension, after President Donald Trump threatened to take back the Panama Canal, alleging a growing Chinese influence in its administration and logistic operations.

"In Panama there is no unauthorized military presence of any kind. Exercises are carried out in areas suitable for the training of forces," Mulino stressed to the press.

The president insisted that his government, despite the fact that the country has had no army since 1990, will continue to support these maneuvers as part of its policy of security and integral protection of the Panama Canal, considered strategic for global trade.