The US plans to send more troops to the Panama Canal, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced, Report informs via TASS.
"We secured a framework for first of Panama Canal passage for US military vessels and auxiliary vessels, as well as the additional presence of US troops stationed through both sides of the Panama Canal," he told students at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.
Hegseth first mentioned plans to expand US military presence in Panama on April 9 following a visit to the Central American country. The minister then spoke about what he called rotational joint exercises in Panama.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Washington needs to regain control of the Panama Canal. He has criticized the high tariffs charged for passage of the Panama Canal, saying that the transfer of control over the waterway in 1999 was a gesture of cooperation and not a concession to other countries. On January 20, in his inaugural address, he declared an intention to take back the Panama Canal. The US leader also said, without providing evidence, that the waterway was allegedly managed by China.
During Hegseth's April visit, Panama's Attorney General's Office said it had opened an investigation against Panama Ports Company, which owns ports on both sides of the Panama Canal. The company belongs to the Hong Kong-based investment conglomerate CK Hutchison.
