Defense Secretary Hegseth said the U.S. and Panama are strengthening security ties and "together" will "take back" the canal from the influence of China, which operates two major ports.

Hegseth is first US defense secretary to visit in decades Panama wrestles with US concerns about Chinese investment US handed ...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged that the Trump administration would “take back” the Panama Canal from “China’s influence” on Tuesday during a visit to the key shipping lane.

President Trump’s trade war may reduce Panama Canal activity in the short-term as Chinese freight vessel traffic plummets, ...

with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explaining Thursday that the deals are a means of serving American interests and working to "stop the sphere of Chinese influence." The Panama Canal Authority ...

The United States and Panama will work together to take back the Panama Canal from “China’s influence,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday while standing in front of the vital ...

The United States will take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during a visit to the Central American nation. Hegseth, following ...

Either we defend strategic places like the Panama Canal or we don't ... They're trying to instill more insidious influence. Partners that -- countries that partner with America know that we ...

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 ...

The notion that the Panama Canal is under China’s influence is a “total misperception”, a top official from the Central American nation has said, adding that his country must explain this to ...

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R) talks with Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez during a visit to the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on April 8, 2025.