FIRST AND FREE: Defense Secretary Hegseth Secures ‘Historic’ Partnership With Panama Against China

PANAMA CITY — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is headed back to Washington as the triumphant bearer of good tidings for President Donald Trump: Panama and the United States will partner to protect the Panama Canal from maligned Chinese interests.

It was both a difficult and delicate task for Hegseth and the Defense officials who accompanied him to bilateral meetings at President José Raúl Mulino’s palace in Panama City. The Panama Canal is a point of national identify for many Panamanians, a senior defense official pointed out on Wednesday evening, and any sense or suspicion of infringement on their sovereignty is considered highly problematic.

The trip began on an energetic but cautiously optimistic note, as Defense Department officials flew down to Panama prepared to engage in serious dialogue but not entirely sure how the week would go. After all, President José Raúl Mulino had angrily attacked Trump when the U.S. president posted that he wanted to retake the Panama Canal and expressed concerns about China’s influence on the region.

Yet by the time Hegseth departed the country, the Secretary of Defense had signed both a memorandum of understanding on cooperative security activities and a joint declaration on the security and operation of the Panama Canal — a framework for US warships and auxiliary ships to sail “first and free” through the busiest waterway in the world.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino looks on as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signs a bilateral agreement, in Panama City on April 9, 2025.  (Photo by Franco BRANA / AFP) (Photo by FRANCO BRANA/AFP via Getty Images)

“These documents reaffirm our historic ties and outline how we will deepen our relationship and strengthen bilateral canal security cooperation,” Hegseth said on Wednesday. “It also builds on the great work started by our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and his team.”

The expanded U.S. and Panama relationship will also focus on cyber cooperation, information sharing, bilateral security dialogs, and canal infrastructure, Hegseth said at a press conference in Panama City on Wednesday.  The memorandum of understanding will also increase joint training exercises, operations, and “overall interoperability” between Panama and the U.S., including joint presence at Fort Sherman, where the Jungle School will be revived, and Rodman Naval Station and Howard Air Force Base.

The focus: helping Panama “deter and counter malign activity in the areas surrounding the canal.”

In recent months, China had denied inappropriate interference and accused the U.S. of trying to coerce Panama into blocking Chinese initiatives in the area. But Trump administration officials, and the president himself, are acutely aware of and focused on combatting the reach of the Chinese Communist Party across the globe. It’s a core pillar of the Trump administration’s national defense strategy.

And given the vital importance of the Panama Canal to the United States, one of the very first calls that Hegseth made as Defense Secretary was to Panama’s president and minister of public security, in late February or January, a senior Defense official shared on Wednesday evening.

“The status quo is unacceptable,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Mulino when he visited Panama last month.

Defense Department officials spent Tuesday and Wednesday underscoring the need to protect not only the United States, but also Panama, from China. They pointed out that promises that China had made to Panama had not come to fruition, officials said. But the key dynamic that persuaded Panama towards this partnership, one defense official insisted, was the fact that Trump is now president of the United States — trust, confidence, and inspiration in politically elected leadership in the United States.

NEW: I asked @PeteHegseth if he’s concerned about retaliation from China following his fruitful visit to Panama.

“No,” he responds. “I’m not worried about retaliation from China. We will stand on our own merits. Peace through strength matters. We represent our interests, put… pic.twitter.com/GxFtDq34Zn

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) April 9, 2025

On Wednesday evening, before he boarded the 89^th Airlift Wing back to Washington, D.C., Hegseth called the visit “historic,” telling reporters that the trip “not only met but exceeded our expectations.”

Hegseth praised the president of Panama, expressing gratitude to the Panamanian leader for the role he played in the day’s events and calling him a “great friend of the United States.”

“Man, he’s a fierce defender of his country,” said the Defense Secretary, adding quickly, “ and rightfully so.”

Just as President Trump puts America first, Hegseth said, President Mulino fights for Panamanian interests.

“At the same time we are working with them to ensure we can take back the canal from maligned Chinese interests,” Hegseth noted. “The Panamanians don’t want that influence, neither do we. That’s important for their sovereignty. We’re excited to be partners with them.”

The Defense Secretary told The Daily Wire he’s not worried about retaliation from China at this time.

“We will stand on our own merits,” he added. “Peace through strength matters. We represent our interests, put America first, President Trump is staring them down on trade…”

Defense officials stressed that this week’s visit to Panama is the first of many visits to come. “This is not a situation where we just jump on the plane and fly away,” one official shared. “No, we are with this. We are about bolstering that alliance.”

For his part, Hegseth stressed that the renewed relationship between Panama and United States will foster what the U.S. desires: “a hemisphere that is secure, prosperous, and full of sovereign nations.”

“This is not about globalism or foreign adventurism,” he said on Wednesday. “This is a golden age of clear eyed Americanism and shared national interests. We want this to be a golden age for our countries together and for this hemisphere. We want, in short, not only to make America great again, but to make the Americas great again.”