US envoy reassures Panamanians about contentious military deal
by AFP Staff Writers
Panama City (AFP) May 9, 2025

The new US ambassador to Panama on Thursday reassured its citizens that an agreement signed by the two countries last month does not permit the return of American military bases.

US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to "take back" control of the Panama Canal from what he calls excessive Chinese influence has caused alarm in the Central American nation.

The agreement signed by Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and President Jose Raul Mulino's administration allows US military personnel to deploy to Panamanian-controlled bases along the canal for training, exercises and "other activities."

"Nowhere" does the agreement "talk about opening military bases," Trump's ambassador, Kevin Cabrera, told a news conference.

This agreement "will strengthen our cooperation against drug trafficking and protect the canal," which the United States built and controlled until 1999, he added.

The recent deal has sparked protests from Panamanians who oppose any perceived infringement of their country's sovereignty after a 1989 US invasion to depose then-leader General Manuel Noriega.

Cabrera said that "false" information was being spread about the agreement "for political reasons."

Mulino on Thursday ruled out canceling the pact, which he said did not allow "any form" of US military base in his country.

"There is no cession of territory here," he told a news conference.

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