Al Letson: From The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, this is Reveal. I’m Al Letson. From a surprise decision to attack a nuclear site in Iran, to going back and forth on arming Ukraine and its fight against Russia, to weaponizing tariffs, President Trump’s moves on foreign policy have made people ask, “What’s the strategy?” One place where Trump tried laying it out was in his inauguration speech. President Trump: The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. Al Letson: His comments raised a lot of eyebrows. Earlier, during the campaign, Trump talked a lot about being less involved overseas and putting America first. Now, he was talking about the idea of manifest destiny. That expansion of the U.S. was both justified and inevitable. In some cases, that’s meant turning the tables on America’s friends and allies, treating them as lackeys, and even adversaries. That’s what this week’s show is about. Take Panama, one of the most Americanized countries in Latin America, Trump complains it’s overcharging American ships for crossing the canal that the U.S. built more than a century ago. President Trump: The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous. Al Letson: Then there’s his claim about who actually controls the canal. President Trump: China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back. Al Letson: Now, if you’re thinking that a covert Chinese takeover of the canal sounds like a script from Hollywood, well, it is. U.S. Military: My rapid response units are on full alert, Sir. Carrier ALASKA is off the coast of Panama. Eight F-22 Raptors are on alert. Al Letson: Adapted from a John le Carré novel, The Tailor of Panama was a 2001 spy thriller. After catching wind of a secret effort to sell the canal to China, U.S. officials decide to send in troops to reoccupy Panama. General Dusenba…: There’s a missing star on our flag, gentlemen. It looks to me that God has given us a second chance here. Al Letson: In this fictional world, the invasion was called off at the last minute. It turns out that Chinese plot was a fake. Unlike that Hollywood version, President Trump insists the China threat is real. He says, if Panama doesn’t secure the canal, he might have to deploy the American military to get the job done. We wanted to know how Trump’s threats are playing out on the ground in Panama. So, we sent Reveal’s Nate Halverson there, where he teamed up with Panamanian journalist, Andrea Salcedo. Here is Nate. Nate Halverson: That just turned way down. Okay, testing. I’m standing here next to the Panama Canal. Literally, on one side, it looks like a 7-story slab of steel, and on the other side, a placid lake. These giant gates open up, allowing these huge commercial vessels to slowly rise up and pass through the mountains of Panama. When it formally opened in 1914, the Panama Canal was called the eighth Wonder of the world, stretching 50 miles from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Pacific, cutting through thick jungle and rugged mountains. Today, around 40% of all U.S. container traffic transits the canal. Andrea says one of the most popular spots for tourists and dignitaries from around the world is here at the Miraflores Locks. Andrea Salcedo: Miraflores Visitor Center is the place where every Panamanian takes their friends who are visiting Panama. If you come to Panama and you don’t visit Miraflores and see a boat crossing the Panama Canal, did you even come here? Nate Halverson: Not too far from the canal, Andrea and I are driving in downtown Panama City when we come across a big, agitated crowd that’s gathered outside one of the busiest metro stations in the city. So this looks like a protest we’re coming up to. Andrea Salcedo: This is a group of teachers right by a train station here in the city. They have been protesting for over three weeks now. Nate Halverson: We decide to pull over and take a closer look. Once you get out on my side, I think it’ll be safer. Andrea Salcedo: Okay, gracias. Gracias, Guillermo. Crowd 1: [foreign language 00:04:51]. Nate Halverson: Andrea and I wander into the crowd. A couple of hundred people are waving Panamanian flags, clapping and yelling as a cluster of speakers take turns airing their grievances. Crowd 1: [foreign language 00:05:03]. Nate Halverson: It’s one of those sweltering humid days in Panama that leaves your clothes, or at least my clothes, drenched in sweat. Some protesters are using their flags as fans, others are hiding from the scorching sun under umbrellas, and looking over all of this is a large contingent of police officers. Someone in the crowd motions to us and directs us to a man who’s a spokesman for one of the groups organizing the protest. Eddy Pinto: [foreign language 00:05:33]. Nate Halverson: Eddy Pinto is Secretary General of a local teacher’s union. He tells us that protests are exploding in Panama over a bunch of issues. Eddy Pinto: [foreign language 00:05:48]. Nate Halverson: There’s the possible reopening of a controversial mine, changes to the social security system, and, well, President Trump’s threats to take back the canal. Eddy echoes many people here who blame Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, for caving into Trump’s demands about the canal. Eddy Pinto: [foreign language 00:06:12]. Andrea Salcedo: He’s basically calling President Mulino, and the Minister of Security, Frank Ábrego, and the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Javier Martínez-Acha. He’s calling them traitors because he’s saying that they have given Panama away to the U.S. and to Trump. Nate Halverson: Does he worry that the U.S. might invade? And what would he do if that were to happen? Andrea Salcedo: [foreign language 00:06:34]. Eddy Pinto: [foreign language 00:06:36]. Andrea Salcedo: Panamanians, we’re going to defend our sovereignty and our nation with our life. Eddy Pinto: [foreign language 00:06:53]. Andrea Salcedo: We are not going to be a protégé of the U.S. or one more star for the U.S. flag. Nate Halverson: It’s pretty peaceful here, but when we get back to our hotel, we see that another protest, just blocks from where we were, turned violent with police firing tear gas on demonstrators. The protesters are angry at President Mulino for a deal he made with the Trump administration. It allows U.S. troops to deploy to Panama for training exercises, joint operations, and other undisclosed activities. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in April during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. Pete Hegseth: When President Trump says, “We’re taking back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence,” that involves partnership with the United States and Panama, and we’re grateful that they’ve welcomed U.S. troops on Panamanian soil. Nate Halverson: Hegseth said under the MOU, U.S. troops would be in Panama “by invitation”, but a lot of people here remain suspicious that the Trump administration has a not-so-hidden agenda. Ricardo Lombana: The documents that were signed, the MOUs, they show that we just gave up all what Trump wanted from Panama, and not based on arguments, not based on facts, but based on lies, and that’s not right. Nate Halverson: Ricardo Lombana leads Panama’s main opposition party, Movimiento Otro Camino, or in English, another way. Lombana has publicly denounced the Trump administration, saying it’s lying about Chinese influence here in order to assert control over the canal. He calls it a camouflaged invasion. Ricardo Lombana: There is not a limit on the number of military forces or units that can have presence in Panama. Nate Halverson: U.S.? Ricardo Lombana: U.S. military forces. Nate Halverson: So you’re worried that this could mean almost a return to military bases? Ricardo Lombana: Yes, because there’s not a limit on the numbers. Nate Halverson: Then there’s the question of where U.S. troops would be stationed. Panama’s Neutrality Treaty with the U.S. bans foreign military bases on its territory, though America has the right to protect the canal if it’s threatened. So, perhaps by design, the agreement signed by the Trump administration uses vague terminology. The document refers to authorized locations in Panama where U.S. personnel will be positioned. It turns out, all those locations, they were once actual American military bases when the U.S. controlled the canal. Ricardo Lombana: When you add up all this, we are giving part of our sovereignty to the United States and we’re going back to the military bases under different names, and that is according to the MOU. Nate Halverson: And it sounds like what you’re saying is this is probably all but a military base in name. Ricardo Lombana: Yes, it is. Nate Halverson: The Trump administration’s threat to deploy troops to “take back the canal from China” has perplexed just about everyone we spoke with in Panama. Jorge Luis Quij…: We just said, “Wow, how many people can be wrong about the Chinese having a lot of influence over the Panama Canal?” Nate Halverson: Few people know more about the running of the Panama Canal than Jorge Luis Quijano. He spent his career here and served as the top administrator from 2012 to 2019. He says one thing is true, China’s rise as a global economic powerhouse is undeniable here. Jorge Luis Quij…: The number one customer of the Panama Canal is the United States, but then all of a sudden, with the last, let’s say, 10 years, China has become a commercial power and we’ve seen them evolve into the number two slot. Nate Halverson: But when it comes to military and security issues, Jorge says the Trump administration’s assertions about China lack hard evidence, especially allegations that Chinese companies involved in infrastructure projects are somehow giving Beijing covert control over the canal. Jorge Luis Quij…: Yeah, I haven’t seen any Chinese Communist Party presence here in Panama. If you’ve got a problem with China, a commercial problem with China, that in the mind of some people think that it may become a military problem with China, don’t put us in the middle of it. Nate Halverson: The security agreement that was signed in April lists three installation sites in Panama where U.S. personnel will be deployed. And again, the document isn’t clear about what the U.S. intends to do. So, Panamanians are left wondering, “Will American soldiers stay in Panamanian barracks and just help with training, or does the Trump administration plan to rebuild these former military bases and bring back American weapons and heavy equipment?” In other words, who’s really calling the shots? Right, I’m going to start driving. Am I in reverse? Andrea Salcedo: It looks like you are. Nate Halverson: Andrea and I decide to visit one of these locations to see what we can learn. It’s named Fort Sherman, or in Spanish, Fuerte Sherman, after the American Civil War general. It was used by U.S. troops from the first World War through the late 1990s, when the last remaining soldiers left Panama. We leave Panama City, which is on the Pacific Coast, and drive for about an hour and a half to the Atlantic side. A route takes us across Panama’s newest link over the canal. Andrea Salcedo: So we’re now recording, and this is the Atlantic Bridge. Nate Halverson: This bridge is absolutely stunning, and it’s not just the architectural design, which looks like the main sail on an old schooner, but it’s after you cross the bridge and get back to land, you are descending into a thick, lush, verdant, green jungle. As we approach Fort Sherman, our car windows are misted over, and we’re getting a little tense. The last foreign journalists we know of who tried to get a closer look were kicked out by security forces. Andrea Salcedo: We just passed the security gate here in Fuerte Sherman. Nate Halverson: There were two heavily armed Panamanian security forces. We slow down to take a closer look. Now, we are in what feels like a ghost town from the 1960s, old American barracks, three stories tall, concrete, white structures with the walls, on a lot of them, ripped out, the windows missing, hollowed out, ghost village. The jungle has begun to reclaim these old, concrete buildings, which were once part of a major U.S. military base. From the car, we see what appears to be an outpost of the Panamanian security forces that are now stationed here. This building is still intact. All right, we’re stepping out of the car here. Andrea and I walked to a squat austere office building set close to the water’s edge. Andrea Salcedo: [foreign language 00:14:12]. Nate Halverson: [foreign language 00:14:13]. Panamanian Offi…: [foreign language 00:14:14]. Nate Halverson: Inside, a Panamanian officer appears a bit taken aback that two journalists are suddenly standing in his office with recording equipment. Panamanian Offi…: [foreign language 00:14:24]. Nate Halverson: He tells us that no American construction has started, but he adds something that hasn’t been reported. A few weeks earlier, a group from the U.S. Embassy came here to survey the site. It’s the first concrete sign that the U.S. is getting ready to reclaim use of this former military base. We reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Panama for an interview, but no one was available. So, the day after we visit Fort Sherman, we head to the Presidential Palace to get some answers from President Mulino at his weekly press conference. Around two dozen reporters are here. It’s a larger contingent than usual. Things are tense across the country. After about 30 minutes of prepared remarks, I’m invited to ask a question. President Mulin…: Gracias. Nate Halverson, prensa internacional, Reveal. Nate Halverson: Good morning, Mr. President. President Mulin…: Good morning. Nate Halverson: I traveled to Fort Sherman yesterday, and I was informed that members of the U.S. Embassy were recently onsite surveying the buildings. So my question is this, what are your hopes for what the Americans do with the buildings and the site? And what are your concerns considering President Trump’s rhetoric around taking back the canal? President Mulin…: Okay. Listen, I don’t expect much. I know very well the installations. Actually, it’s one of the main bases of the Aeronaval Service in Panama. However, I suppose that, for the services or training that they are going to do, they have to make some restoration, remodelations. Nate Halverson: President Mulino tells me he expects the Pentagon will refurbish buildings at Fort Sherman for American troops. Right now, the only personnel there are from Panama’s air and naval police. Panama’s deal with the Trump administration allows the U.S. military to control buildings and store weapons and heavy equipment at Fort Sherman, but Mulino says this does not add up to a return of American bases in Panama. President Mulin…: It doesn’t mean military presence. They will rotate between three other sites, training, and helping, and cooperating with our police forces in different areas of Panama. It has nothing to do with the declaration of the President of the United States in terms of taking back the canal. I have said very clearly, the canal is in Panama, belongs to the Panamanian people, and will remain so. Nate Halverson: President Mulino’s enormous challenge should be familiar to other leaders around the world, how to do business with the Trump administration while reassuring your own people that you’re defending the country’s interests. There’s something else that makes Mulino’s job even harder, talk of a return of American troops to Panama is reviving painful memories of the last U.S. invasion. President Georg…: At this moment, U.S. forces, including forces deployed from the United States, are engaged in action in Panama. Nate Halverson: On December 20th, 1989, President George H. W. Bush ordered thousands of U.S. troops into Panama to depose the country’s de facto ruler, Manuel Noriega. President Georg…: Most organized resistance has been eliminated, but the operation is not over yet. Nate Halverson: Noriega eventually surrendered and was extradited to the U.S., where he was convicted on drug trafficking and other charges. The U.S. military reported that around 500 Panamanians and 23 American soldiers were killed during the invasion. In some cases, the bodies of local people were dumped into mass graves in the chaos. A commission funded by the Panamanian government has spent years trying to properly identify the bodies and notify relatives. In April, the commission announced it had formally identified four more people, whose remains were exhumed from a mass grave in Panama City. Among them, a police officer named Ramon Alberto Núñez. On my last day in Panama, Andrea and I pay a visit to Ramon’s family. They live in a working class neighborhood in Colón, the main city on Panama’s Atlantic coast. Andrea Salcedo: [foreign language 00:18:48]. Nate Halverson: Elida Olivero de Núñez and her son, Elias, lead us into a living room in the back of their house. Andrea Salcedo: Elias is sitting besides his mother, and they are like the [foreign language 00:19:05], like- Nate Halverson: Spitting images of each other. Andrea Salcedo: Spitting images of each other, they are. Nate Halverson: Elida recalls how late, on the night of December 19th, her husband went to work. He never came home. She says, weeks later, she traveled to Panama City where she was shown photographs of people killed in the invasion. There on the wall was an image of Ramon. He had a gunshot wound under his left eye. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:19:31]. Translator 1: They later had to give me a pill because I couldn’t stop crying. That was too sad for me, too painful, but they took me out of that room pretty quickly. Nate Halverson: Elida says she has no idea why Ramon’s remains ended up in a mass grave, and there’s an ongoing dispute over whether U.S. troops were responsible for dumping the bodies there. After the commission excavated the site, it took a DNA sample from Elias. He was just three months old when his father was killed. The DNA matched. Elias: [foreign language 00:20:14]. Translator 2: It’s the law of life for children to bury their parents. After 35 years, I was able to do that with mine. I want to thank my mom, my uncle, and a cousin who were there with me that day. Elias: [foreign language 00:20:31]. Translator 2: That was the moment when I could finally properly bury my father. Elias: [foreign language 00:20:37]. Nate Halverson: Our conversation turns to the Trump administration and the agreement with President Mulino for a U.S. troop presence in Panama. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:20:49]. Translator 1: It’s very sad, very hurtful, very embarrassing because, like I say, President Mulino didn’t lose anyone in the invasion. No one cares because, who died? The lower-ranked people, the police. As one would say in Panamanian slang, the children of the women who cook. They didn’t do anything, the Panamanian government didn’t do anything for those who died here. Nate Halverson: She tells us this is reopening a wound that never fully healed. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:21:29]. Translator 1: It’s something that we’re never going to come to terms with. He doesn’t accept the fact that he didn’t have a father. They ripped his father away from him. He wasn’t able to call him dad, and he died in such an ugly way. Nate Halverson: Andrea asks Elida one final question. Is she losing sleep over Trump’s comments about Panama? Andrea Salcedo: [foreign language 00:21:59]. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:22:04]. Translator 1: Of course, I lose sleep over that. Of course, it hurts. Of course, we have that fear because I don’t think that the President of the United States is speaking just for speaking. One has to fear him. One has to think twice about what he’s saying. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:22:24]. Nate Halverson: Telling her story has been hard, but feeling that such a painful history could repeat itself is even harder. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:22:40]. Andrea Salcedo: [foreign language 00:22:41]. Elida Olivero d…: [foreign language 00:22:41]. Andrea Salcedo: [foreign language 00:22:42]. Nate Halverson: [foreign language 00:22:43]. Andrea Salcedo: She wants a picture. Nate Halverson: Yeah, we want one, too. Elida Olivero d…: Okay. [foreign language 00:22:46]. Nate Halverson: When we finished the interview, Elida says she wants a picture of all of us. Andrea and I set out to understand how President Trump’s rhetoric to take back the Panama Canal is playing out. And as we stand here taking a photo with a still grieving widow, having seen the street protests, and President Mulino’s attempts to downplay the return of American troops, it all hits home, the U.S. efforts to exert control over the canal have come at a cost for the people of Panama. Al Letson: That was Reveal’s Nate Halverson and reporter, Andrea Salcedo. In a moment, we go back to another time and another president who played politics with the Panama Canal. President Reaga…: We bought it, we paid for it, and General Torrijos should be told we are going to keep it. Al Letson: You are listening to Reveal.