Panama

The Chinese Ministry of Transportation on Tuesday summoned representatives of shipping giants Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to discuss how “international shipping operations” have been disrupted by the Iran war and the Panama Canal legal dispute.

Officials from Panama’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Thursday raided the offices of Panama Ports Company (PPC), a China-linked organization that up until recently controlled two key ports at the Panama Canal.

The government of Panama on Monday took administrative and operative control of two key Panama Canal ports following the Panamanian’s Supreme Court ruling that annulled the contracts signed with a China-linked organization.

Conservative President of Panama José Raúl Mulino issued a stern warning to the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday not to expect its threats against his country to be tolerated, responding to browbeating from Beijing following a ruling against Panama Canal contracts signed with a regime-linked corporation.

U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera over the weekend emphasized in an official statement that the recent ruling from Panama’s Supreme Court nullifying two Canal port contracts awarded to a China-linked company strongly affirms the rule of law.

The Supreme Court of Panama ruled on Thursday that two decades-long contracts awarded to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, to operate two ports in the Panama Canal were unconstitutional.

A group of 50 U.S. Marines will begin a six-week long joint training program in Panama alongside local military officials Monday, local outlets reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard is awaiting for additional resources to arrive before potentially attempting to stop and board another oil tanker linked to Venezuela’s socialist Maduro regime, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister of Panama Javier Martínez-Acha said on Monday that the Panama-flagged oil tanker recently interdicted by the United States failed to comply with the country’s maritime rules.

Panamanian authorities announced they have arrested ten people and seized about 13.2 tons of drugs from a U.S.-bound ferry in the Pacific.

Latin America, once fertile ground for China to sign “Belt and Road” infrastructure deals with poor countries, is turning its back on “crappy” construction projects that erode the sovereignty of local governments, a senior State Department official told Breitbart News.

Socialist Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva welcomed his Panamanian counterpart José Raúl Mulino on Thursday to sign several bilateral agreement and support Panama’s control of the Panama Canal.

Migrant crossings at Panama’s Darien Gap plunged to nearly nothing in May and June, an important indicator of illegal immigration to the United States.

Panama’s comptroller general sued against the contract that allows a China-linked company to control two Panama Canal ports.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine announced on Monday that it had plans to open four new embassies in Latin America by the end of the year and over ten new consular offices in Europe – in part at the expense of Ukraine’s embassy in Cuba.

Drag queen Xunami Muse has revealed to fans that he is self-deporting from the U.S.A. and back to his home in Panama.

British authorities seized 2.4 metric tons of cocaine in a ship arriving in England from Panama, authorities said Saturday, calling it one of the U.K.’s biggest drug busts in years.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem observed a deportation flight of illegal aliens in Panama who sought to make it to the United States-Mexico border to cross illegally. 

U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera on Thursday said that the United States is working together with Panama to eliminate “China’s malign influence” in the Panama Canal.

Chinese state media announced on Wednesday that Colombia has signed a “joint cooperation plan” that will bring it into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s gigantic worldwide infrastructure plan.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had one mission on his trip to Panama — to secure a deal to get “first and free” passage for U.S. ships in the Panama Canal, a critical waterway for the United States’ economy and military that was at risk of falling under China’s control.

Beijing accused U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of “maliciously attacking” China and sabotaging its relationship with Panama during his official visit to the Central American nation.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday in Panama delivered a clear message: the United States and Panama would take back the Panama Canal from China’s influence.

Comptroller General of Panama Anel Flores on Monday announced that he would file a criminal complaint against Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, on accusations of breach of contract over the two ports it manages at the Panama Canal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading to Panama City, Panama, on Monday, for a two-day visit to attend the 2025 Central American Security Conference and meet with American troops stationed there.

Chinese antitrust regulators on Friday blocked a deal by the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison conglomerate to sell two ports along the Panama Canal to a consortium led by investment giant BlackRock.

Kevin Cabrera, President Donald Trump’s nomination as the next U.S. ambassador to Panama, said Tuesday during his confirmation hearing in Congress that China’s influence in Panama extends beyond the canal’s ports.

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.

The number of illegal U.S.-bound migrants passing through the dangerous Darién jungle plummeted by nearly 99 percent during the month of February 2025 when compared to February 2024, Panama’s Migrant Authority revealed this week.

President of Panama José Raúl Mulino on Wednesday morning accused President Donald Trump of “lying again” after Trump reiterated his call to take back control of the Panama Canal in a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings Limited announced Tuesday asset manager BlackRock has agreed to buy a majority stake of its subsidiary that operates two ports at the Panama Canal for $23 billion.

Attorney General of Panama Luis Carlos Gómez said on Wednesday that a decades-long contract awarded to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, to operate two ports in the Panama Canal is “unconstitutional,” local outlets reported.

A report from the Panamanian government’s national border service, Senafront, indicates migrants are now employing the same boat smugglers who once ferried them from Colombia to Panama to return them home. The Panamanian agency refers to the process as “inverse” migration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Breitbart News exclusively that President Donald Trump and his administration are aiming to peel Russia off of China in much the same way former President Richard Nixon, during the Cold War, peeled China off of the Soviet Union.

The Panama Canal Authority refuted a U.S. accusation that Panama Canal staff must go through Chinese security to get to their place of work.

The Chinese government held a meeting with Bolivia’s top diplomat this week as part of a campaign to undo the damage to its reputation and interests in Latin America caused by Secretary of State Marco Rubio making his first international tour in the position to countries there vulnerable to Chinese influence.