Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked defense officials to “provide credible military options to ensure fair and unfettered US military and commercial access to the Panama Canal,” according to reports.
CNN reported that the request was outlined in a memo sent to senior leaders titled “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” which replaces the 2022 National Defense Strategy and will guide the Department of Defense in line with President Donald Trump’s vision.
NBC News reported that U.S. Southern Command presented draft strategies to Hegseth this week and that potential strategies include “simply ensuring that U.S. ships have safe passage through the canal to restoring total U.S. ownership and operation of it.”
Other options reportedly under consideration include using the U.S. military to secure existing ports in Panama, build new ports in Panama or use the Army Corps of Engineers to operate the canal’s locks.
Trump’s goal is to take control of the 50-mile canal and counter China’s growing influence over the area, out of concern China could shut down the canal to American shipping and the U.S. military in the event of a conflict. Banana declined to renew a key infrastructure agreement with China after Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February warned Panamanian leader José Raúl Mulino to reduce Chinese influence or face potential retaliation. Hegseth will reportedly visit Panama next month.
Last week, Trump said, “a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals.”
As NBC News reported, BlackRock is part of a group buying a 90 percent stake in the Panama Ports Company, which operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal from a Hong Kong-based firm, CK Hutchinson, for $22.8 billion.
An official told NBC News the U.S. military has more than 200 troops in Panama, some of them Special Forces units working with Panamanian forces to protect the country from internal threats.
CNN reported that Hegseth’s memo outlined the Trump administration’s priorities as securing the U.S. border, reinforcing the U.S.’s presence in the Western Hemisphere, and focusing on China.
It also reportedly called for European allies to step up as “allies — not dependents,” called for providing military aid to Israel and continuing to arm Arabian Gulf partners, and called for greater military cooperation between Israel and the Sunni Gulf states.
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