Washington, Nov 10 (EFE).- The U.S. Department of War has begun sending ground forces to conduct training exercises in the jungles of Panama for the first time in decades, according to a report by ABC News on Monday. According to a Pentagon official, Washington has sent U.S. soldiers and marines to complete a training program at the Cristóbal Colón naval base. Although the program is currently relatively small in scale, it is expected to intensify in 2026. The course, which began earlier this year, is not intended to prepare troops for a possible mission in Venezuela, the official clarified to ABC. This would be the first time in over two decades that the U.S. Army has sent conventional troops to a training exercise in the Panamanian jungle. U.S. Southern Command in the Caribbean and Pacific, near the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia, as part of a campaign against drug trafficking that has resulted in two dozen attacks on boats allegedly carrying drugs and the deaths of more than 70 'narcoterrorists,' according to Washington. The renewed U.S. interest in Panama is likely due to practical reasons, but it could also be used to send a message to the region, insisted retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Steve Ganyard. 'From a practical point of view, it is easier to get to Panama than to Okinawa. That said, a message is undoubtedly being sent to (Venezuelan President Nicolás) Maduro by conducting combat training on his territory,' he told ABC. Shortly after his return to the White House in January, U.S. President Donald Trump showed interest in Latin America and even expressed his intention to regain control over the Panama Canal, allegedly to counter China's 'malign influence' on the interoceanic passage. More recently, Trump has doubled down on his rhetoric against the Venezuelan and Colombian leaders, Nicolás Maduro and Gustavo Petro, whom he accuses of leading drug trafficking networks, a claim rejected by both Caracas and Bogotá. Last August, the Pentagon had already established a joint training program with the Panamanian Army in the jungle. 'If one can train and fight in one of the most difficult and challenging places in the world, it creates a truly lethal and effective force,' the official told ABC, adding that the U.S. War Department plans to send platoons of up to 40 soldiers at a time. After public differences over the Panama Canal, Trump sent a letter to his Panamanian counterpart, José Raúl Mulino, in early November, in which he described the Central American country as a 'staunch friend and valuable ally' of Washington. In this context, agreements were signed in the field of security that provided for a greater temporary and rotational presence of the U.S. military in Panama as part of bilateral cooperation for the defense of the Canal. Several Panamanian sectors have criticized these pacts as a violation of sovereignty and the Neutrality Treaty that governs the waterway, a claim flatly denied by the Mulino government. Photo EFE. The entry 'Not aimed at attack on Venezuela: Pentagon sends troops to train in Panama' was first published in La Verdad Panamá. And the jungles of Central and South America present their own challenges, as had been reported on November 4 about joint training between U.S. and Panamanian troops focused on preparing soldiers 'to survive and thrive in jungle environments.' This move coincides with the broad military deployment of the U.S.
