The article examines the conflict between the Republic of Panama and the United States of America in the context of the global confrontation between the United States and China that has intensified since the coming to power of D.Trump in January 2025. The main factor in the escalation of the situation was the growth of tension between the two countries around the Panama Canal, which is of strategic importance to the United States. Trump’s campaign of harsh pressure on Panama, in addition to seeking to strengthen the U.S. strategic position in the Panama Canal zone, increase its control over global trade flows and generate additional revenue, reflects long-standing concerns about China’s growing influence in Central America and the Caribbean. Deterring China is part of Trump’s broader strategy to increase political, economic and military presence in the region, which is seen as an area of special interests of the United States. The article presents an analysis of the Trump administration’s policy towards the Panama Canal and of its economic importance for the United States. It also examines China’s role in the development of the canal and assesses the real presence of Chinese (Hong Kong) companies in its management. The reaction of Panama’s authorities to the demands to reduce dependence on China as well as the consequences of the measures taken for China are shown. The problems and prospects of the development of the transport artery connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are analyzed. The unprecedented pressure on Panama, which included threats of military intervention, resulted in a renegotiation of the terms of cooperation with the Chinese companies, the sale of shares in the port infrastructure of the Panama Canal to a consortium of investors led by an American fund, the cooling of Sino–Panamanian relations and Panama’s withdrawal from the Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative”. It is concluded that in the near future, such pressure tactics will determine Washington’s political, trade, and economic relations with countries geographically located in the immediate environment of the United States, where its influence and economic leverage are significant.
Ludmila N. Simonova (Wed,) studied this question.