Central America

Trump will deploy troops to Panama as the Canal suffers crisis

Agreement between the two countries: the US would already send troops to man training posts. Maritime traffic down to 33 ships per day in March

11 April 2025

Una nave transita presso le chiuse di Cocoli, sul Canale di Panama, a Panama City. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP)

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Key points

Chinese anti-Chinese move
Channel in crisis in March

1' min read

TheUnited States will be able to deploy troops at installations controlled by Panama for training, exercises and a range of other activities, according to a joint agreement seen by the AFP news agency. Troops that, according to what Donald Trump anticipated at a government meeting, have already been sent.

Anti-Chinese move

"We have deployed many troops to Panama and occupied some areas we did not have before," said the President, together with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had just returned from an official visit to Panama. The move is against Chinese control of the Canal.

Channel in crisis in March

The number of boats that crossed the Panama Canal, the world's second busiest waterway, fell to an average of33.7 per day in March, for a total of 1,045 vessels in that month, according to a bulletin published Thursday by the administrative authority.

In February, an average of 34.8 vessels per day crossed the waterway, up from 32.6 in January, but still below the maximum number of vessels permitted.