Key Points 

• José Raúl Mulino won Panama’s presidency in May 2024, backed by former President Ricardo Martinelli despite his corruption conviction. Mulino faces governance challenges, lacking a parliamentary majority and dealing with economic uncertainty, migration pressures, and foreign policy complexities.
• Since the beginning of his second term, President Donald Trump has made public his intentions of taking back the control of the Panama Canal. The latter was built by the U.S. in the early 1900s, and given to Panama under a treaty in 1997. Panama took total control of the Canal’s administration on December 31, 1999.  
• ​In the fiscal year ending September 2024, the Panama Canal's net income rose by approximately 9.5% to $3.45 billion, despite experiencing the third-driest year in its history. 
• The Canal has been a facilitator of trade for the United States, according to the Panama Canal Authority. By the end of 2024, 52% of transits through the Canal involved ports with origin or destination in the United States, and more than 76% of the cargo that passed through the Canal had the United States as its origin or destination.
• Tensions are escalating between U.S. President Trump and Panamanian President Mulino due to the announcement that the U.S. would no longer pay to cross the Panama Canal. The Panamanian government has deemed this decision "intolerable untruth" and has expressed strong opposition to the move.
• Panama is a key spot for migration influxes to the United States. To arrive in this country, migrants cross the Darien Gap, a dense rainforest separating North and South America. Shared by Colombia and Panama, the Darien Gap was crossed by 300,000 people in 2024, according to figures from the Panamanian immigration authority. Almost 70% were Venezuelans, followed by Colombians with more than 17,000 people crossing the border.
• Presently, Panama has been designated as a "bridge" in the deportation process of migrants from the United States. On February 13, 2025, the country received a U.S. Air Force flight carrying 119 migrants of various nationalities. President José Raúl Mulino explained that Panama is participating in this process as part of a cooperation program requested by the United States. Upon arrival, migrants are initially accommodated in a hotel in the capital and later transferred to a shelter in San Vicente, Darién, before their final return home.