Panama is positioning itself as a mediator between the United States and Venezuela at a time of high tension between the two countries and amid a possible U.S. action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, for which it could 'host certain individuals from the Venezuelan regime,' Panamanian Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Hoyos told EFE in an interview. 'Panama has always been an excellent mediating country, and President (of Panama, José Raúl) Mulino has even said that if to resolve the situation in Venezuela it is necessary to host certain individuals from the Venezuelan regime, we would be willing to do so temporarily,' he said on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, which ends this Sunday in the Qatari capital. Panama announced this September that consular relations with Venezuela were restored only for migration issues, after they were suspended last year following Mulino's questioning of the results of the 2024 presidential elections in the Caribbean country, in which Maduro was declared the winner amid fraud allegations from the opposition. The United States maintains a military deployment in the Caribbean, near the border with Venezuela, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, but which Caracas has denounced as a 'threat' seeking to provoke a change of government. Furthermore, the Caribbean country is suffering from an air connectivity crisis that originated after the notice issued on November 21 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which urged to 'exercise extreme caution' when flying over this country and the southern Caribbean due to what it considers a 'potentially dangerous' situation in the area. The Panama Canal in the spotlight Amid a possible U.S. action against Venezuela and with the reinforced military presence of Washington in the Caribbean, the vice foreign minister expressed 'great concern that something could happen' in his country and in the region, as it could 'destabilize and affect everyone.' According to the vice foreign minister, the Canal is the world's greatest 'asset' and therefore 'the whole world has to make sure to protect it,' in case it is affected in any way by the tensions in the Caribbean. 'Regarding the Panama Canal, I believe the United States is possibly the most interested country in ensuring there are no interruptions in the Panama Canal. And it is our job to ensure that we continue to work within the Canal with the neutrality that obliges us and about which we have a very deep conviction,' he asserted. And he pointed out that he does not believe there will be 'any type of disruption due to a military conflict,' given that 'the consequences of a limited, closed canal are felt everywhere.' In fact, for Panama — to which the Canal contributes 'about 3,000 million dollars to the state treasury every year' — it is an 'extremely important' source for financing its own projects, so any 'potential interruption in that would be very complicated for us.' The 'impasse' with the U.S., overcome At the beginning of the year, good relations between the United States and Panama were strained after Trump promised to 'retake' the Panama Canal. 'This initial impasse that we saw in the (Trump) government, I think, has been largely overcome, and now the conversations focus on all kinds of collaboration, mainly on trade, migration, and security issues,' Hoyos assured. Therefore, he is sure that they are now 'much better aligned' with the Trump administration and that 'what comes in the next few years is going to be fabulous,' he concluded.
