PANAMA · SECURITY
Key Facts
- The country Panama, home to the Panama Canal, has had no army since 1990 and expanded temporary, rotating US troop visits in an April 2025 memorandum.
- What happened On Wednesday 14 October, the US Embassy called a report of 600 troops to Panama for an anti-drug campaign “categorically false”.
- The real number 120 soldiers of the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York, are taking a two-week jungle course in Panama.
- When they leave The soldiers return to Fort Drum when the course ends on Sunday 25 October.
- The wider picture Other US troops will join regional drills, including an exercise called Southern Vanguard in Peru.
- Power Index Panama ranks 11th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 34.2 points (October 2026 edition).
The United States on Wednesday 14 October denied sending 600 troops to Panama, calling a New York Times report “categorically false.” Its embassy said 120 soldiers of the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division are on a two-week jungle course there, which ends on Sunday 25 October.
The dispute matters to Americans because the report tied the move to a wider US anti-drug campaign that could reach Honduras and Colombia. Panama, home to the Panama Canal, has argued about US troop visits since a 2025 security deal that critics called a loss of sovereignty.
What the US Embassy Said
The embassy called it regrettable that some media keep publishing misleading claims about US forces and their Panamanian partners without checking facts. Its statement was printed by the Panamanian daily Metro Libre and summarised by La Prensa, a Panama City newspaper.
La Prensa added that, according to the embassy, nobody had contacted it to check the claims before they ran. Instead of 600 troops to Panama, it counted 120 soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, an Army division based at Fort Drum, New York.
Those soldiers are taking a two-week jungle training course and will return to Fort Drum when it ends on 25 October. Other US troops will join regional exercises, including Southern Vanguard in Peru, the statement said.
The embassy said this was nothing new, adding that US personnel are in Panama at the invitation of the Panamanian government. It said they work in close coordination with, and through, their Panamanian counterparts.
The statement also quoted Pete Hegseth, who runs the Pentagon as US Secretary of War. He said the United States is there to work beside and together with Panama, and that security cooperation brings tangible benefits to both countries.
The embassy pointed to the magnitude 7.7 earthquake of Friday 9 October, after which US troops helped Panamanian authorities deliver supplies and move response teams. Washington has also given Panama 17 trucks for quake relief.
What the Report Claimed
The newspaper reported earlier on Wednesday that the Pentagon had begun sending troops to Panama, about 600 soldiers from Fort Drum. Their destination was a jungle training centre, La Prensa said, and Spain’s EFE news agency relayed the story.
In La Prensa’s summary, the report linked the move to a wider US anti-drug campaign in Latin America, run from a command in Miami. It said the effort could later extend from Panama to countries such as Honduras and Colombia.
The campaign also reaches Mexico, whose navy chief said on Tuesday 13 October that US forces send early warnings about suspect boats. Navy Secretary Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles said Mexico’s own navy then stops the boats, the Yucatán daily Por Esto reported.
The Jungle School Behind the Course
The embassy said the Jungle Operations Training Center has run for more than a year as a school officially recognised by the US Army. American and Panamanian instructors teach survival and jungle operations side by side, it said.
Graduates from both countries receive the Jungle Tab, an Army badge for the course, and a certificate of completion. US participants do not stay in Panama after they graduate but return to their home units, the embassy said.
Hegseth had announced in April 2025 that a jungle school at Fort Sherman, a former US military site, would reopen with Panamanian forces. In August, US and allied troops rehearsed landing an Army Chinook helicopter at Panamá Pacífico International Airport, as Panama hosted US-led exercises at the canal.
The 2025 Security Deal and Panama’s Sovereignty Debate
Sending US troops to Panama has been a political issue there since a memorandum the two governments signed on Wednesday 9 April 2025. It expands a temporary, rotating US military presence and rules out US military bases, the EFE account in the Central American magazine Estrategia & Negocios said.
Hegseth said at the time that the deal restored rotating, joint presence at Fort Sherman, Rodman Naval Station and Howard Air Base. Javier Martínez-Acha, Panama’s foreign minister when the deal was signed, said it respected the canal’s 1977 Neutrality Treaty and the constitution.
He insisted there was no cession of sovereignty, but critics spoke of ceding sovereignty and opening the door to foreign troops. Former president Martín Torrijos and former presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana were among opponents who signed a joint statement against it on 30 April 2025.
In June 2025 both men said the United States had cancelled their entry visas. Torrijos linked the decision to his opposition to the memorandum, which he called the “Ábrego-Hegseth” deal after Frank Ábrego, Panama’s public security minister.
What It Means for You
For families with soldiers at Fort Drum, the embassy’s statement sets a clear end date of Sunday 25 October for the course. Its figure of 120 soldiers is one fifth of the 600 troops to Panama in the report.
For travellers and businesses in Panama, the embassy describes a jungle course held at the invitation of Panama’s government and calls it nothing new. For anyone following US policy, the episode shows how closely the region now watches every sign of new US troop movements.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the Pentagon plans to send more troops to Panama under the wider anti-drug campaign the report described. The embassy rejected the figure of 600 but did not say whether other units could follow later.
It is not known how Panama’s government will respond to the report or to the embassy’s denial. It is also unclear whether Honduras or Colombia will see similar US deployments, as the report suggested.
More: Panama news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the US send 600 troops to Panama?
The US Embassy in Panama said on Wednesday 14 October that a report of 600 troops to Panama was “categorically false.” It said 120 soldiers are currently on a two-week jungle course there.
Which US soldiers are training in Panama?
They belong to the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division, which is based at Fort Drum, New York. The embassy says they will return there once the course ends on Sunday 25 October.
Why are US troops training in Panama?
The embassy says they are there at the invitation of Panama’s government and train with Panamanian instructors in jungle survival and operations. A 2025 memorandum allows a temporary, rotating US presence but rules out US military bases.
Sources: Metro Libre (full text of the US Embassy in Panama statement), 14 October 2026; La Prensa (Panama), 14 October 2026; US Embassy in Panama, 13 October 2026; Por Esto, 13 October 2026; Estrategia & Negocios (EFE), 17 June 2025; Estrategia & Negocios (EFE), 11 April 2025.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief