Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is set to travel to Panama in the coming days to visit his Panamanian counterparts amid the Trump administration’s pursuit of “reclaiming” control of the Panama Canal.

Hegseth will participate in the 2025 Central American Security Conference, and he will meet with senior civilian, military, and security leaders to “strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure western hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said last Friday.

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Parnell did not mention the canal specifically, but it’s an undertone of the trip, given the president’s determination that it’s in the United States’s interest to reclaim it.

The U.S. built the canal to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between the east and west coasts of the United States. It turned over control to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty President Jimmy Carter signed in 1977.

President Donald Trump told members of Congress last month, “To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it.”

The Trump administration has accused China of having influence in the control of the canal, which the Panamanian government has denied.

After Trump’s comments to Congress, Panamanian President Jose Mulino said, “The Panama Canal is not in the process of being restored, and this is certainly not the task that was even discussed in our conversations with Secretary Rubio or anyone else. I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation.” 

CK Hutchison Holding, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate that holds 90% control of the Panama Ports Company, said in a filing last month it intends to sell its stakes in two ports — Balboa and Cristobal — to a consortium led by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company. 

“It’s also no surprise that the CCP is upset at this acquisition, which will reduce their control over the Panama Canal area,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in late March. “We are also glad to see U.S. investors acquire a controlling stake in the Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates the ports at Balboa and Cristóbal at either end of the Panama Canal.”

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Panama also announced in February it would allow its participation in the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative to expire following a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio called the decision “a great step forward for US-Panama relations, a free Panama Canal, and another example of [Trump’s] leadership to protect our national security and deliver prosperity for the American people.”