Thousands of students and employees in Panama demonstrated on Tuesday over a anticipated increase in the US military’s presence around the nation’s crucial interoceanic transport river and other government initiatives. The Panama Canal, which the United States built and governed up until 1999, has been constantly threatened by US President Donald Trump to “take up” command of it. Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino agreed last month to help US military personnel to travel to Panamanian-controlled outposts along the river for education, activities, and “other activities,” which was perceived as a major agreement to Trump. The biggest demonstration in three days of hits and protests took place on Tuesday in Panama City to rally Mulino’s plan to reopen a massive open-pit metal mine as well as social security reforms. Since Mulino took office ( in July 2024 ), “everything has gone to hell,” said 27-year-old student Isaac Alba, who participated in the demonstration.
