Panama Receives U.S. Military Helicopters for Exercises
The second phase of the Panamax Alpha exercises coincides with the unprecedented U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean.
Five helicopters from the United States Southern Command’s Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-B) arrived in Panama this Friday to continue exercises that began last July as part of cooperation for the defense of the interoceanic Canal and other facilities in the Central American country. These helicopters are two UH-60 Black Hawks and three CH-47 Chinooks, participating in the Panamax Alpha – Phase II training and execution exercise, which runs from this Friday until September 15, the National Aeronaval Service (Senan) reported in a statement. Now, “training and humanitarian aid activities will continue, with the participation of specialized personnel from the National Aeronaval Service, the National Police, and the National Border Service.
“The execution of the Panamax exercise and joint training contribute to strengthening the operational capabilities of Panamanian state security forces for the protection of the Panama Canal,” the official statement added. Phase I of this exercise took place last July with the participation of more than 100 Special Forces from Panama and the United States, along with five helicopters of the same type as those that arrived in the Central American country this Friday. Joint exercises between the US and Panama, which has not had an army since 1990, have become common since the 1989 US invasion. This exercise is even more so now that they have renewed cooperation in this area through a memorandum of understanding that has generated some controversy in the Central American country because it provides for a larger, temporary, and rotating US military presence.
Phase II of the Panamax Alpha exercises coincides with the unprecedented military deployment in the Caribbean by the US as part of the war it has declared on drug trafficking, linking it to the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro, for which it is offering a $50 million reward. In this context, the USS Lake Erie crossed the Panama Canal on August 29th, bound for the Caribbean, where the US has deployed more than 4,000 marines, three destroyers, and a nuclear-powered submarine. This Friday, US media reported that the Donald Trump administration ordered the deployment of ten F-35 fighter jets to an air base in Puerto Rico for the same purpose of combating drug trafficking in the region, amid escalating tensions with Venezuela.
