US Senate and the Panama Canal – Who Controls the Ports in the Canal? Petro of Colombia Defies Trump – Migrant Caravan Leaves Mexico Ignoring Trump’s Restrictions

What Consequences Does the US Senate Hearing have Regarding the Panama Canal?

The Panama Canal is at the center of geopolitical tensions these days. Two key events next week reinforce this reality. On Tuesday, January 28, the US Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled Tariffs and Foreign Influence: Examining the Panama Canal and its Impact on US Trade and National Security, convened by Republican Senator Ted Cruz. In addition, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State in the Donald Trump administration, is expected to arrive in Panama.  All this is happening in a scenario marked by Trump’s threat to regain control of the strategic route, using Chinese interference as an unfounded argument. Former Foreign Minister Ricardo Alberto Arias says the possibility of this hearing on Canal tariffs leading to legislation is ‘remote’.

Who Controls the Ports Surrounding the Panama Canal?

Panama’s five main ports are in the adjacent areas of the interoceanic canal, now in the eye of the storm due to the stated intention of US President Donald Trump to “retake” control of the waterway, alleging alleged Chinese interference in its operation, which the Panamanian government has flatly rejected.  These five terminals, operated by multinationals from the United States, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, are among those with the highest container movement on the continent, according to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which shows that Panama is a logistics power.  Two of these ports, Balboa (Pacific) and Cristóbal (Atlantic), are operated by a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, a multinational based in Hong Kong, which has sparked the fury of the new Trump government, a situation that contrasts with its first administration (2017-2021) when Panama was not on its agenda. These are the ports located around the canal, an 82-kilometer passage that connects the Atlantic and the Pacific and through which around 3% of world trade passes.

1. Port of Manzanillo (MIT), Atlantic coast

The Port of Manzanillo (MIT) or SSA Marine MIT is operated by the American multinational SSA Marine and is the port with the largest container movement in the country, with more than 2.7 million TEU (standard 20-foot containers) in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Planning Office of the Maritime Authority of Panama (AMP) provided to news media.  Built on a former US naval base, this 2,300-metre terminal has been dedicated to transshipment since 1995 and has 6 docks for container operations equipped with 21 post-Panamax and super post-Panamax gantry cranes, and two other docks for Ro-Ro operations (movement of vehicles and trailers).  The port has a handling capacity of 3.5 million TEUs, according to data from Georgia Tech Panama.  SSA Marine operates more than 250 locations across five continents, including Central America, MIT in Panama and the ports of Caldera, Coyol and Limón in Costa Rica, according to company information.

2. Port of Balboa, Pacific

The Port of Balboa has been operated since 1997 by the Panama Ports Company (PPC) , which has been owned by CK Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, since 2015. It is the second largest container port in Panama, with more than 2.3 million TEUs in 2024.  With five container ship docks, Balboa operates with 25 gantry cranes (10 Post Panamax, 8 Panamax and 7 Super Post Panamax). It has an annual capacity of 5 million TEU.  Hutchison operates 53 ports in 24 countries around the world. These ports are located in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia, according to the company

3. Port of Columbus, Atlantic

The Port of Colón or Colon Container Terminal (CCT) is part of the Taiwanese Evergreen Group and began operations in 1997. In 2024, it moved more than 1.5 million TEUs, ranking third in the local ranking.  Built on a former US military base, the port has four container docks, 13 gantry cranes and other yard equipment that give it a handling capacity of 2.4 million containers per year.  The Evergreen Group is one of the world’s leading container operators. Its Evergreen Marine Corporation operates nearly 240 ports in 80 countries, according to company data.

4. Rodman Port (Pacific)

The Port of Rodman is operated by PSA Panama International Terminal, as part of the Singapore-based PSA International Group. It is the fourth largest container port in the country, handling more than 1.3 million TEUs in 2024.  The port, which began operations in 2010, has a 330-metre-long dock equipped with 3 post-Panamax cranes in its first phase, and a 400-metre-long dock equipped with 12 rail-mounted cranes and 8 additional gantry cranes in its second phase. In total, it has the capacity to handle 2.5 million TEUs per year.  PSA operates around 40 terminals in 16 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

5. Port of Cristobal (Atlantic)

The Port of Cristobal, like that of Balboa (Pacific), is operated by the subsidiary of CK Hutchinson Holdings (Hong Kong). It is the fifth largest container port with 1,384 million TEU in 2024.  It has 3 container docks and 12 hectares dedicated to the handling and storage of containers respectively, and 13 gantry cranes. It has the capacity to handle 2 million TEUs per year.

The Panama Canal has Exceeded Expectations under Panamanian Administration

The Panama Canal has been managed with excellence and to the highest international standards, highlights the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap) in its regular Sunday column, La Cámara Opina.  At a time when President Donald Trump is threatening to reverse Panamanian management, the Chamber of Commerce says: “Managing an infrastructure of this magnitude, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is a responsibility that we Panamanians have assumed with seriousness and long-term vision.” The Chamber of Commerce highlights that since the Panama Canal passed into Panamanian hands, its administration has demonstrated an unprecedented level of excellence, in addition to the economic contribution it has represented for the country.

The University of Panama Responds to Trump: The Canal Operates with 100% Efficiency in Panamanian Hands

The Academic Council of the University Of Panama (UP), headed by rector Eduardo Flores, categorically rejected the threats of US President Donald Trump to recover the Panama Canal and reminded him that the interoceanic route operates with 100% efficiency in Panamanian hands.  In an open letter addressed to Trump, the UP categorically rejects any attempt at intervention that would harm the dignity and legitimate right of the Panamanian nation to live in peace.  “Your statements, President Trump, regarding the Panama Canal must be analyzed in the context of the history and bilateral relations between Panama and the United States.

The Canal has been a symbol of sacrifice and struggle for Panamanians, and its recovery represented a significant achievement of national sovereignty,” Flores said.  It is also noted that the Panama Canal is managed 100% efficiently by Panamanian professionals. Furthermore, it is noted that Panama planned, carried out and paid a significant amount for the expansion of the Canal to accommodate larger vessels and that, at this time, it is a much more efficient and profitable route than when it was managed by the United States.  At the same time, the Panamanian people are called upon to maintain national unity in these uncertain times.

Petro Defies Trump. Planes Carrying Deportees will not Enter Colombia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Sunday that he will not allow planes carrying citizens deported by the United States to enter the country if they do not receive decent treatment.  “The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes with Colombian migrants into our territory. The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them,” Petro said in a message on his X account.  “The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory,” Petro said.  Petro did not provide details of his decision, but the announcement comes amid controversy in several Latin American countries over deportations as part of US President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.  The Brazilian government on Saturday denounced the use of handcuffs by US authorities against citizens of that country during a deportation flight. 

Justice and Public Security Minister Ricardo Lewandowski ordered the Federal Police to ask U.S. agents to “immediately” remove the handcuffs as soon as the plane made a technical stop in the city of Manaus, according to a statement.  On Friday, the White House said deportations of migrants had “begun,”a reference to Trump’s central campaign promise to carry out the largest mass expulsion of foreigners in U.S. history.  On the same day, the first two deportation flights bound for Guatemala arrived in that country from Laredo, Texas.  Petro has questioned some of Trump’s decisions and policies, and last Tuesday he described as “dangerous” the comment made by the White House tenant about Latin America, a region about which the American leader said: “We don’t need them.”  “We have to wait for the development of relations and politics on the planet, not only in the United States. But I would say that the announcement that we are alone and that we do not care about Latin America, etc., is a dangerous announcement not only for the world, but for American society itself,” Petro told reporters.  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also said on Saturday that the United States “would not be what it is” without Mexicans who go to work there, in light of the start of immigration raids that began after Trump took office.

Petro Says there are 15,660 Americans Living in Colombia ‘Irregularly’

The Colombian president said he believes in human freedom, but calls on Americans to regularize their immigration status in that country.  “There are 15,660 Americans living in Colombia illegally. They should contact our immigration service,” the president said on social media.  Petro also said that “American citizens who wish to do so can be in Colombia” because he believes “in human freedom. But more than 15,660 are illegal immigrants and, according to Colombian law, they must regularize their stay.”  “You will never see me burning a US flag or carrying out a raid to return handcuffed illegal immigrants to the United States.

True libertarians will never attack human freedom. We are the opposite of the Nazis,” the president said.  This statement comes just hours after Petro himself said that he did not allow planes carrying citizens deported by the United States to enter the country because they did not receive decent treatment, which according to local media led Washington to suspend visa processing in Colombia as of this Monday.  In this regard, the president said that “the dignity of Colombia and Latin America comes first,” as he considered that “migrants are human beings and subjects of rights and should be treated as such.”   This comes after he stated that the United States “cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals” and urged that country to “establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants” before Colombia receives them. 

Petro and Mulino pictured above are Central and South American allies when it comes to the Panama Canal and Immigration. The announcement comes amid controversy in several Latin American countries over deportations as part of US President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.  The Brazilian government on Saturday denounced the use of handcuffs by US authorities against citizens of that country during a deportation flight.  Justice and Public Security Minister Ricardo Lewandowski ordered the Federal Police to ask U.S. agents to “immediately” remove the handcuffs as soon as the plane made a technical stop in the city of Manaus, according to a statement.  On Friday, the White House said deportations of migrants had “begun,” a reference to Trump’s central campaign promise to carry out the largest mass expulsion of foreigners in U.S. history.  On the same day, the first two deportation flights bound for Guatemala arrived in that country from Laredo, Texas.  Petro has questioned some of Trump’s decisions and policies, and last Tuesday he described as “dangerous” the comment made by the White House tenant about Latin America, a region about which the American leader said: “We don’t need them.”

Trump’s Reaction to Petro: Increased Tariffs on Colombian Products and Withdrawal of Visas for Petro Government Officials

The US president said he will prohibit Colombian government officials and allies from entering US territory and announced tougher trade measures.

 New Migrant Caravan leaves Southern Mexico despite New Restrictions Imposed by Trump

A group of migrants walk in a caravan towards the northern border this Monday, from the municipality of Tapachula in Chiapas (Mexico). 

This contingent of people pictured above left Tapachula, Chiapas, after the cancellation of the CBP ONE application, which allowed them to request asylum in the United States, and faced with the lack of employment, insecurity, and the hope that they could be offered a new option to enter their destination.  Thousands of migrants set out on Sunday in a new caravan from Mexico’s southern border, trying to reach the country’s capital and then try to cross into the United States, despite President Donald Trump’s toughening of his immigration policies and deportations of people.  The undocumented immigrants are trying to challenge the immigration policies of the Republican, who since the first day of his mandate, last Monday, began the deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were on US soil. 

Some members of the caravan are seeking to stay at the northern border, fearing deportation to their countries of origin.  This contingent of people left Tapachula, Chiapas, after the cancellation of the CBP ONE application, which allowed them to request asylum in the United States, and faced with the lack of employment, insecurity, and the hope that they could be offered a new option to enter their destination.  Among this crowd is Yomely Daniela Blackaus Bodeen, a woman who is taking three children to the United States to work and buy a house for her mother, since her economy in Honduras does not allow her to support herself and fulfill her mother’s dream.

“He (Trump) has to know that not all migrants are criminals, there are migrants who do need to get ahead, not all migrants are criminals, murderers,” he said. Diego Armando Castillo, a migrant from Venezuela who is traveling with his family, told us that they are leaving Tapachula because the CBP ONE application has been closed, but if it were still in effect, he would give up on walking because of the risks, the financial issue, and all the expenses that the trip entails.  “I think the closure of CBP ONE is a strategy by the American government to begin to purge and remove people who entered illegally some time ago and who do not have immigration records, and we can understand that,” he said.  However, he said, the current US government should open “a new authority” for all migrants who are stranded in Mexico so that “they can enter, passing them through their rules and requirements.” 

President of Mexico pictured above, Claudia Sheinbaum. Meanwhile, Colombian migrant Maricela Cortés said that she remains determined to reach the northern border to try to cross into the United States, and that is why she joined this caravan to advance to Mexico City and wait a while since the American dream is alive.  “We are not afraid. I think we left fear behind a while ago. We are mentally prepared to get there and that at some point a door will open. We trust God a lot and that is what makes us move forward, trying to be united,” he said.  The caravan is leaving a few days after Trump dedicated his first executive orders to “closing” the border with the deployment of military personnel and reinstating the controversial “Remain in Mexico” program, which forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexican territory.  In response, Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration presented ‘Mexico embraces you’, a strategy with which the Government intends to reintegrate Mexicans deported by Trump through promises of employment, social programs, support for moving around the country and the ‘Paisano Bienestar Card’ with 2,000 pesos (about 97.6 dollars).