Panama’s special operations team is gearing up for Fuerzas Comando 2025, a U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored rigorous international competition. The event, set to take place in El Salvador, August 18-29, is more than just a test of physical prowess and tactical precision; it symbolizes the enduring partnership of participating countries, built on a shared commitment to regional security.
“Joint training between our Special Forces and the U.S. military has evolved significantly,” Panama National Police (PNP) Captain Moisés Gutiérrez, captain of the Panamanian team for Fuerzas Comando 25, told Diálogo. “We have strengthened techniques and tactics, and we have enhanced the capabilities of each member of the Command Forces, minimizing risks in every operation.”
The annual Fuerzas Comando competition, which Panama hosted in 2024, brings together elite units from across the Americas. It’s a demanding event that tests leadership, resilience, adaptability, and teamwork. Ultimately, the friendly competition promotes interoperability, improves training, and enhances regional security. As such, Panama’s team has adopted a comprehensive methodology to optimize their performance.
“The Panamanian team’s preparation is forged in a technical, physical, and tactical structure based on teamwork and individual strategies,” Capt. Gutiérrez said. “We seek to raise our overall potential to carry out missions in an unknown operational environment.”
The Panamanian team was selected in December 2024 through a qualifying round involving officers from the PNP, the National Border Service (SENAFRONT), and the National Air and Naval Service (SENAN), the Ministry of Security indicated.
Since then, teams from across the Americas have been preparing for challenges that include close combat, physical endurance, shooting with handguns and long guns, and operations on land, sea, air, and river environments.
“Representing Panama in the 2025 Fuerzas Comando competition means knowing that you are enhancing your overall capabilities as a special forces operator,” Capt. Gutiérrez added. “Panama can counter national and transnational threats; we have capabilities that are based on our ranking among the top five special forces in the Americas.”
Long-standing alliance
Panama maintains a strong and expanding alliance with the United States to enhance its elite units’ interoperability. In February, U.S. and Panamanian forces’ engagements culminated in the first U.S.-Panama special operations forces talks, with the aim of creating a long-term collaborative training agenda. Recent months have seen intensified security cooperation, particularly focused on the defense of the Panama Canal and broader regional stability.
This strengthened partnership has been evident is various joint initiatives. The PANAMAX Alpha exercise series has been a cornerstone, with Phase 0 in late March and early April focusing on humanitarian assistance, including medical services, food distribution, and support for school construction in remote areas. This laid the groundwork for Phase I, conducted in mid-July, which specifically addressed preparedness for threats to the Panama Canal and other strategic infrastructure.
“The exercise consists of training and educating our units in the air, land, and sea domains for the defense of the Panama Canal,” Deputy Commissioner Maicol Palacio, SENAN’s national director of Air and Naval Operations, told Argentine news site Infobae. “The goal is to combine the different capabilities of each institution, to act as a single group, in order to be able to attack any possible threats to the Canal.”
Beyond these specific exercises, U.S. security cooperation with Panama has deepened through a memorandum of understanding signed in April, facilitating various engagements, including live-fire drills, medical care, and land navigation techniques. Another example of this cooperation was the June exercise carried out between the U.S. Marine Corps’ 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and SENAN units, who trained in the Panamanian jungles to exchange survival techniques.
“The fact that the Marine Corps is conducting the course jointly with SENAN units is beneficial for both, as they share jungle survival techniques and tactics and share a culture,” said Second Lieutenant Agustín Trejos, SENAN jungle survival instructor. “And that further strengthens the bond of friendship between both sides.”
This training directly strengthens Panama’s security forces, not only in their daily operations, but also in their performance in highly demanding scenarios, such as those presented by Fuerzas Comando 2025.
With the competition just days away, the Panamanian special operations team and those from across Latin America are finalizing their preparations. The overarching goal extends beyond competition: Each day will serve as an opportunity for participants to assess their capabilities, learn from the continent’s best operators, and deepen the bonds of operational trust forged through these international partnerships.
