SUNTRACS Secretary General Saúl Méndez indicated that the demonstrations will reject the most recent agreements signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who concluded a three-day visit, constitute an affront to national sovereignty and a flagrant violation of the Constitution.
Méndez, a former presidential candidate in 2019, denounced President José Raúl Mulino and his Minister of Security, Frank Ábrego, among other authorities, for allowing the violation of the Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty (1977), the free transit of US Navy and auxiliary vessels, and the establishment of military bases.
According to the spokesman for the People United for Life alliance, Mulino should be tried for treason, due to the content of a Joint Declaration, which, among other points, establishes, joint exercises, and military enclaves under the guise of cooperation in the fight against organized crime,
At a press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth suggested that US troops return to Panama to protect the canal from what he called China’s “malign influence”. He also asserted that the joint defense exercises that are regularly held are an opportunity to revive a military base or naval air station where US troops operate, which Abrego immediately refuted, saying, “We cannot accept military bases or defense sites.”
However, the parties agreed to reactivate the Panamax 2026 exercise, focused on the defense of the Canal.
The unions also warned about another agreement that provides for the rotating presence of US and Panamanian troops in the towns of Rodman (at the Pacific entrance to the Canal), Howard (Panama Pacific Airport), and the Sherman sector (in Colón), and the installation of the so-called Jungle Survival School in that town.
For the various unions, this center is reminiscent of the School of the Americas, which operated in Panama between 1946 and 1984 and was known for promoting torture techniques and military training for dictatorships on the continent.
Méndez stated that true patriots will defend respect for the Panamanian people and their right to self-determination in the streets.
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