A group of US soldiers is carrying out combat exercises on Panama’s Caribbean coast, the third drill of its kind so far this year, against the backdrop of rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. In the maneuvers, held at the former US military base of Sherman at the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal, around 50 US Marines and Panamanian police officers on Tuesday simulated the rescue and helicopter evacuation of a person wounded in combat.
The exercise is taking place a day after President Donald Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the crisis with Caracas.US Army Captain Nelson Marchan, who is of Venezuelan origin, said he did not know whether these trainings are linked to a possible military intervention to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power, an option raised by the Chavista leader.
“I have no knowledge of that,” Marchan said. The United States has deployed to the Caribbean the world’s largest aircraft carrier along with other warships, fighter jets, and thousands of troops. Washington says the operation is aimed at combating drug trafficking.
The United States, without presenting evidence, has killed at least 83 people in attacks on suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean. On Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not rule out the possibility of US troops being deployed on Venezuelan soil, just hours after Trump confirmed he had a telephone conversation with Maduro.
The Republican said days ago that the United States would “very soon” begin targeting “Venezuelan drug traffickers” in operations “on the ground. ”Since August, the US military has been conducting exercises in Panama alongside local police as part of a bilateral cooperation program signed under pressure from Trump, who threatened to take back the canal on the grounds that it is controlled by China.
The drills continued in October. In the current round, which will run until December 18, 25 US Marines and 25 Panamanian police officers are taking part, according to Captain Ariel Rosas of Panama’s National Aeronaval Service. “We use the experience of our Panamanian instructors to help us survive in the jungle,” Marchan said.
Three new exercises are already scheduled for next year, he added. Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, said weeks ago that these trainings are not connected to “any hostile act against Venezuela.”
