Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is gearing up for a trip to Panama next week, where he’ll sit down with Central American leaders amid escalating tensions over the Panama Canal.
The visit comes hot on the heels of President Donald Trump’s renewed push to assert American interests in the vital shipping lane, a move conservatives are hailing as a long-overdue correction to decades of misguided policy.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit Panama next week, the Pentagon said, after President Donald Trump put significant pressure on the country to curb ties with China.
— Nucleus (@NewsNucleus) April 5, 2025
Trump has never minced words about his disdain for the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal to Panama back in 1999, a decision sealed by President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 treaty. “Carter foolishly gave it away,” Trump has said, arguing that the…
