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 this, Panama could "host certain individuals from the Venezuelan regime," Panamanian Vice Chancellor Carlos Hoyos stated in an interview with EFE.
"Regarding the Panama Canal, I believe the United States is possibly the country most interested in ensuring there are no interruptions of any kind in the Panama Canal," Hoyos said.
"Panama has always been a country par excellence in mediation, and President (José Raúl) Mulino has even said that if resolving the situation in Venezuela requires hosting certain individuals from the Venezuelan regime, we would be willing to do so temporarily," he affirmed at the Doha Forum, which concludes this Sunday in the Qatari capital.
The Panama Canal, in the spotlight
In the face of a potential U.S. action in Venezuela and the reinforced U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, the vice chancellor expressed "great concern that something could happen" in his country and the region, as it could "destabilize and affect everyone."
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 nation, in which Maduro was declared the winner amid fraud allegations from the opposition.
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.
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 our own projects," so any "potential interruption in that would be very complicated for us."
He pointed out that he does not believe there will be "any kind of disruption due to a military conflict," given that "the consequences of a limited, closed canal are felt everywhere."
According to the vice chancellor, the Canal is the world's "biggest asset" and therefore "the whole world has to ensure to protect it," in case it is affected in any way by the tensions in the Caribbean.
"And it is our job to ensure that we continue to work within the Canal with that neutrality that obligates us and about which we have a very deep conviction," he asserted.
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 government change.
"This initial impasse we saw with the (Trump) government, I think, has been largely overcome and right now the conversations are focused on all kinds of collaboration, mainly on trade, migration, and security issues," Hoyos assured.
Therefore, he is sure that they are "much better aligned" with the Trump administration and that "what comes in the next few years is going to be fabulous," he concluded.
Additionally, the Caribbean country is suffering an air connectivity crisis originated after the warning 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 south of the Caribbean due to what it considers a "potentially dangerous situation" in the area.
