Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino arrived in Brasília on Thursday (28) for a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The official agenda is focused on investment opportunities for Brazil and other Mercosur countries.
This is their second meeting in 2024. The first occurred at the Mercosur summit in Buenos Aires in July, where Lula, whose country holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, expressed interest in advancing a free trade agreement with Panama.
According to Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Guevara Mann, Mulino’s trip to Brazil and Japan seeks to promote Panama’s strategic location and logistical infrastructure. “Panama aims to become a redistribution platform for exports from Mercosur countries,” Guevara said at a press conference Wednesday.
But the visit comes amid mounting regional concerns, particularly after the United States deployed military forces in the Caribbean Sea — a move seen as a threat to Latin America and the Caribbean. Panama has taken on a strategic role in supporting this agenda, allowing the deployment of U.S. troops inside its territory.
Closer to Washington, harsher at home
Since taking office on July 1, 2024, Mulino has pursued an increasingly pro-Washington agenda, even as former U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power and resumed a confrontational stand toward Latin America.
Domestically, Mulino’s administration has been accused of harsh repression and human rights violations, especially targeting unions and popular movements. Protests have intensified across the country, particularly in the province of Bocas del Toro, which has now been militarized.
An unlikely rise to power
Mulino’s path to the presidency followed an unexpected turn during Panama’s 2024 election. He had initially registered as the vice-presidential candidate to former President Ricardo Martinelli, a wealthy businessman and right-wing populist who governed from 2009 to 2014.
After Panama’s Electoral Tribunal ruled Martinelli ineligible, upholding a 10-year prison sentence for money laundering, Mulino became the presidential candidate for the Alliance to Save Panama and won the election with 34% of the vote. His victory came nine points ahead of runner-up Ricardo Lombana, with voter turnout reaching a record 77.5%. Panamanian law allows the presidency to be won by simple majority.
Mulino had long served under Martinelli, even as security minister. During his tenure, security forces violently repressed popular movements. In 2010, two union members were killed and dozens left partially blind due to indiscriminate use of tear gas in Bocas del Toro. Additional deadly crackdowns occurred in 2012.
Despite this, Martinelli’s presidency coincided with a period of economic growth, which helped restore his popularity. In 2024, with the country facing economic decline — purchasing power had fallen 10% since 2015, unemployment hovered around 9%, and 45% of workers were in the informal sector — many voters hoped for a return to perceived stability.
Anti-migrant policies and neoliberal shock
In his inauguration speech, Mulino declared Panama would no longer be a transit country for migrants. A message that signaled his commitment to border control and U.S.-aligned migration policy.
That same day, Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas signed an agreement under which the U.S. would cover costs related to deporting migrants entering Panama through the Darién Gap, a dangerous jungle corridor connecting Colombia and Panama.
Soon after, Mulino announced the “closure” of the Darién jungle route, deploying troops and installing barbed wire to block migration. A move widely criticized by human rights groups.
At the same time, Mulino’s government scrapped social subsidies and lifted price controls on staple foods like rice, deepening economic pressure on working-class families.
U.S. military back in Panama
In February, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio chose Panama as the first stop on his tour of Central America and the Caribbean, amid increasing tensions with China. After the visit, the U.S. State Department pressured Panama to curb Beijing’s influence over the Panama Canal. In response, Mulino withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and canceled several bilateral agreements.
Weeks later, the Panamanian government signed a memorandum of understanding allowing U.S. military deployment in the country, without parliamentary debate or public consultation. The move triggered mass protests across Panama.
Labor unions, opposition parties, and civil society groups have led general strikes against the military presence. The government has responded with escalating police crackdowns. Reports of forced disappearances and persecution of Indigenous leaders in Bocas del Toro have emerged from rights organizations.
Popular disapproval grows
Most recently, on August 17 and 18, U.S. Southern Command chief Alvin Holsey visited Panama for the third time in 2025. He oversaw joint military exercises between U.S. and Panamanian forces at the former U.S. military base in Sherman, Colón, an area once vacated after Panama regained full control of the canal in 1999.
The symbolic return of U.S. troops to Sherman, amid new deployments in the Caribbean, is seen by many analysts as part of a wider strategy targeting Venezuela and undermining regional sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Mulino’s approval ratings have plummeted. A poll conducted in June by Prodigious Consulting and La Estrella de Panamá showed that nearly three in four citizens disapprove of his government. Only 2.7% rated it as ‘good’ or ‘very good.’
The drop has been steep: in January, over half of the population believed the country was on the right path. Now, discontent is surging as Panamanians face repression, economic austerity, and foreign military occupation.
