Panama and Geopolitics

Germán Arciniegas is a renowned Colombian historian and writer whose books about Latin America have educated several generations in our countries. He identifies the discovery of America (unnecessary or silly to discuss the word “discovery” here) and the construction of the Panama Canal as endpoints in the “Biography of the Caribbean.”

The two events have a common denominator: colonialism.

While Christopher Columbus’ navigational achievement was necessary, given European ambition to increase dominion and sources of wealth, the Panama Canal was a way to take advantage of an accident of geography (the narrowing of the continental land mass at the Central American isthmus) to promote navigation, trade and expansion.

But colonialism was relinquishing its historic sphere of influence as Europe declined in power, especially after World War II (NATO and the Marshall Plan are proof of this), when the Iron Curtain came down and neocolonialism emerged. Neither Vichy France nor the Gaullist resistance was concerned about colonial Algeria, for example.

Those misfortunes fed bipolarity during the risky period of the Cold War, the division of the world into two axes — U.S. capitalism and Soviet communism — until the fall of the Soviet Union on Dec. 25, 1991.

U.S. colonial administration of Panamanian territory culminated with the handover of the Canal Zone, an enclave in the heartland of the Republic of Panama. Paradoxically, thanks to the canal, the Canal Zone is the republic’s only resource. The history of Panama is the history of the canal, and vice versa. Its financial boom is another matter.

That’s why, when Donald Trump threatens to take back control of the Canal Zone — with pretexts that are trivial and of little importance, such as paying for the right to use the canal’s locks — Panamanians are extremely alarmed. And with good reason.

In the 20th century, Panama suffered a military invasion, but no one wanted to or could stop it. George H. W. Bush’s Marines came in with guns blazing to capture Manuel Noriega, a second-rate loser whom the U.S. itself had pushed into the Panamanian presidency.

But even then, the handover of the canal to Panama remained intact. Against that background, it can only take those threats seriously and, additionally, be grateful for the solidarity of its neighbors. That is because this matter must be analyzed in the geopolitical context, just like the suggestion to classify Mexican cartels as terrorists. That would issue a blank check for intervention by U.S. forces (military or civilian, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration) as they did in the case of Mayo Zambada* and, much earlier, of doctor Álvarez Machain.**

And again, in those cases, there was no one who would want to, or could, block it. It was completely pointless to complain.

Mexico has already sent its message to the Panamanian government. Panama, in contrast, is not considering the Mexican risks. Or at least its press doesn’t reflect that it is.

The following appeared in the periodical “La Estrella de Panamá”:

“Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino thanked the presidents and people of the region, in the name of the Panamanian people, following the threats made the past weekend by President-elect Trump, who proposed that the U.S. should again take control of the administration of the Panama Canal.

“’In the name of all the people of Panama, I thank the various presidents and ex-presidents for their expressions of solidarity.’ Including the Mexican president.”

He also thanked the heads of international organizations for their support.

“’ … The sovereignty and independence of our country,'” he said, “are not negotiable. Every Panamanian, here or anywhere else in the world, carries it in their heart. And it is part of our struggle and an irreversible achievement. We can have different opinions about many things, but when we’re talking about our Canal and our sovereignty, we come together under a single flag, that of Panama …”

No, he wasn’t talking about the national anthem.

*Translator’s Note: Ismael Mario Zambada García is a former top Sinaloa cartel leader arrested by U.S. authorities on July 25, 2024.

**Translator’s Note: Humberto Álvarez Machaín is a Mexican doctor who was abducted in Mexico in 1990 and brought to the U.S. to stand trial for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of an American citizen by a Mexican drug cartel.