Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino stated that his country has nothing to do with the situation in Venezuela and is not lending its territory for any hostile acts against that or any other country in the world.
During his weekly press conference, the head of state responded to a journalist's question about whether the presence of U.S. troops in Panama for jungle training exercises was linked to the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, which has sparked rumors of some kind of intervention in Venezuela.
Mulino denied that Panama is involved in any "hostile acts against Venezuela" and assured that the training of U.S. military personnel on Panamanian soil is part of bilateral cooperation agreements with the North American country.
"These are two separate issues (...) one has nothing to do with the other," Mulino stated, explaining that "the exercises agreed upon with U.S. military units" on Panamanian territory "are authorized by the Ministry of Security, not only in Darién (...) which is a very suitable and ideal place for this type of training."
Mulino also recalled that Panama periodically serves as a venue for multinational military exercises, such as Panamax, which brings security forces "from all over the world" to the country.
