Panama: Crossroads of Empires · Episode 23 of 24 · 22 min
Drugs, Migrants, and the Numbers: Testing the Case for US Troops in Panama
Washington justified its return to Panama with drugs and migrants. The episode tests both claims against the data. Darién Gap crossings collapsed from 520,085 in 2023 to 421 by August 2026, while drug trafficking remains large, with 122.04 tonnes seized in Panama in 2025. A U.S. maritime strike campaign killed about 227 people with no official total published.
Who's who
- José Raúl Mulino+5 more episodesPanama's president; says the canal's enemy is drug trafficking
- Alvin Holsey+1 more episodeSouthern Command commander until December 2025
- Francis L. DonovanSouthern Command commander since February 2026
- Pete Hegseth+9 more episodesU.S. Secretary of Defense; announced Operation Southern Spear
Where it happens
- Darién Gap, PanamaMigration corridor where crossings collapsed
- Panama+5 more episodesCountry with six concessioned ports inspecting about 10 percent of containers
- Key West, Florida+1 more episodeSite of the joint interagency maritime interdiction task force
- Caribbean Sea and eastern PacificAreas where maritime strikes took place
Timeline
- 2023Peak of 520,085 Darién crossings
- July 1, 2024Mulino inaugurated; repatriation memorandum signed
- February 2025Three U.S. flights carry 299 third-country nationals to Panama
- April 24, 2025Human Rights Watch publishes report on the expulsions
- September 2, 2025First U.S. strike on an alleged drug vessel
- November 13, 2025Operation Southern Spear announced
Still debated
Strike totals vary by tracker, from 65 to 69, with about 227 killed and no official aggregate. Nearly all victims' identities are unknown, and whether any strike occurred in Panamanian waters is not established. Analysts quoted in the press describe the campaign's effect as redirecting rather than reducing trafficking, and no cause has been established for the 2026 seizure decline.
← PreviousThe Panama Port Sale That Never Closed: CK Hutchison, BlackRock, BeijingNext →Is This the Canal Zone Again? A Finale from Someone Who Lived There
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