Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after meeting in private with Panama’s top officials in the country on Tuesday, “acknowledged the sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal,” Minister for Public Security Frank Abrego told reporters in a press conference alongside the Pentagon chief Wednesday.
And in a Spanish-language version of a joint U.S.-Panama statement, released late Tuesday, the Central American country said Hegseth “recognized the leadership and inalienable sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas.”
But the English version of the statement, released by the Pentagon, did not include that phrasing regarding Panama’s control over the waterway.
The discrepancy comes after earlier rhetoric from President Trump, who threatened that Washington would take over the waterway as a way to secure it from Chinese control. Panama, however, denies that Beijing controls the vital shipping lane.
Hegseth said Wednesday the U.S. was “helping to take back the Panama Canal from communist Chinese influence,” with the two signing agreements to deepen security cooperation between the two countries.
He appeared to dodge a question of whether the U.S. recognizes Panama’s sovereignty over the canal, saying, “We certainly understand that the Panama Canal is in Panama, and protecting Panamanian sovereignty from malign influence is important.”
He explained that when Trump has said the U.S. would take back the Panama Canal, what he means is “we’re taking back the canal from Chinese influence, that involves partnership with the United States and Panama.”
That partnership, he said, will involve U.S. troops training on Panamanian soil “by invitation through rotational, joint exercises.”
Abrego, meanwhile, said Panama would not allow permanent U.S. military bases on its soil but would “keep a cooperation in terms of security with the U.S.”
