Panama Firmly Denies US Military Presence on Its Territory Targets Venezuela Amid Regional Tensions

Panama's President has firmly stated that "there is no unauthorized military presence" within the country's borders.

Panama:

On Thursday, Panama's President emphatically rejected claims that United States military exercises conducted in Panamanian territory represented any form of "hostile act against Venezuela."

Throughout the year, US forces have been carrying out survival and combat training operations in Panama's Darien jungle near the Colombian border, as well as at a police facility located on the Caribbean coastline.

These exercises have occurred simultaneously with a US military deployment targeting drug trafficking activities in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, which Venezuelan authorities have characterized as a disguised operation aimed at removing President Nicolas Maduro from power.

President Jose Raul Mulino of Panama strongly emphasized on Thursday that his Central American nation was not "lending out its territory for any type of hostile act against Venezuela or any other country in the world."

Since September, US military strikes targeting suspected drug-smuggling vessels in Latin American waters have reportedly resulted in at least 76 fatalities.

The Washington administration has not provided evidence confirming that the occupants of these boats were indeed drug traffickers, and various human rights organizations maintain that such strikes violate international law regardless of the occupants' activities.

The military exercises conducted by US forces in Panama were facilitated through a security agreement established between the two allied nations in April.

This agreement triggered demonstrations by Panamanian citizens who oppose what they perceive as violations of their national sovereignty, especially given the historical context of the 1989 US invasion that removed then-leader General Manuel Noriega from power.

Under the terms of this agreement, Washington may utilize air and naval facilities for "training" purposes over a three-year period, subject to renewal and with explicit Panamanian authorization.

The security arrangement was established amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has issued statements threatening to "take back" control of the Panama Canal, which was constructed and administered by the United States until its handover in 1999.

"There is no unauthorized military presence in Panama," President Mulino reaffirmed.