The scene last week at Panama City’s elegant Hilton Hotel spoke volumes about the precarious balance of power in the Western Hemisphere. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confidently announced that American warships would enjoy “first and free” access through the Panama Canal, Panamanian officials visibly stiffened.

Within hours, they had carefully recast the same agreement as having a “compensation for services” model. Two nations, one document and diametrically opposed interpretations revealed the high-stakes diplomatic dance unfolding over one of the world’s most strategic waterways.

The latest chapter in U.S.-Panama relations is increasingly defined by contradiction. At its heart lies a fundamental tension: a superpower’s strategic ambitions colliding with a smaller nation’s hard-won sovereignty over its most prized asset.

President Trump has never concealed his views on the Panama Canal, repeatedly suggesting “the U.S. had ‘foolishly’ given the Panama Canal to Panama” and perhaps should take it back. This simmering tension boiled over when Trump, flanked by Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, declared that America has deployed “a lot of troops” to Panama with plans to increase this military footprint. During this remarkable meeting, Hegseth spoke plainly about his work to “secure the canal from Chinese influence,” telling Trump directly, “We’re taking back the canal.”

Such assertions blatantly contradict the 1977 Neutrality........

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