Panama is on the front lines against global cocaine trafficking. A vital hub for global maritime trade, the country has bolstered security at its ports, which are key arteries on the cocaine route to the United States and Europe. With strong support from Washington, Panamanian authorities have launched joint operations, modernized surveillance systems, and strengthened interagency cooperation to curb the presence of transnational criminal networks exploiting the nation’s intense maritime traffic.
“Cooperation between the two countries is stable and transcends the governments and political parties of both nations,” Alejo Campos, regional director of Crime Stoppers Panama, an international organization dedicated to strengthening multidimensional security, told Diálogo. “The Panamanian government has outlined a clearer strategy and political will to tackle drug trafficking, a phenomenon that not only threatens security but also weakens the rule of law, erodes democracy, reduces tax revenue, and affects social investment.”
Ports under threat: the maritime drug route
Panama remains a strategic corridor for drug trafficking. According to Spanish daily El País, criminal gangs use ports, free trade zones, and the Canal itself as transit points to Europe, Asia, and North America. At least 50 criminal organizations have been detected in six ports on both coasts.
A U.S. Congressional report estimates that up to 40 percent of the cocaine produced in Colombia transits through Panamanian waters. From January 1 to August 31, 2025, Panama seized 36,163 packages of drugs in 93 operations carried out in ports and territorial waters, according to figures from Panama’s National Air and Naval Service (SENAN). In late September, SENAN announced via X the seizure of more than 1 ton of cocaine hidden in containers at two Panamanian ports.
In 2024, authorities confiscated more than 117 tons of drugs, mainly cocaine, Newsroom Panama reported. “SENAN has managed to change drug trafficking routes, forcing criminals to move 200 or 300 miles away from the Panamanian coast. Now the drugs pass through Brazil to Europe and Africa, even though this route is more expensive,” SENAN Deputy Director Rafael Jurado told Eco TV Panama.
National strategy: fortifying ports and institutional coordination
In January 2025, Panama launched a new offensive to dismantle narcotrafficking networks and organized crime. Plan Firmeza, an initiative of the Ministry of Public Security (MINSEG), seeks improve public security by increasing interagency collaboration.
The country’s efforts were intensified in September, when Public Security Minister Frank Alexis Abrego announced the formation of a joint working group with the National Customs Directorate and the Panama Maritime Authority to establish a national policy for secure ports. Through this specialized committee, the Panamanian government seeks to shield its maritime terminals, strengthen national security, and send a clear message: “Panama’s ports will not be fertile ground for organized crime.”
The National Customs Authority has also installed new scanners, reinforced controls, and purged personnel involved in corruption. These actions, Campos explained, “are coordinated with Panamanian institutions such as the Attorney General’s Office and the Financial Analysis Unit, in order to pursue broader criminal investigations, not just administrative ones.”
US-Panama axis: strategic cooperation and training
Collaboration with the United States is a key pillar in the fight against drugs, with a partnership that extends across multiple agencies and is governed by decades of formal agreements. Since 1990, Panama and the United States have signed 24 agreements, conventions, and memoranda of understanding. MINSEG coordinates operations through the National Police, SENAN, and the National Border Service (SENAFRONT).
Panama’s strengthened maritime security is a direct result of this cooperation. The Regional Air and Naval Operations Center (CROAN), implemented through the Joint Maritime Force (FMC-Panama), coordinates national efforts to secure the country’s maritime and air space.
This work is supported by key legal frameworks like the Salas-Becker Agreement, which regulates collaboration in maritime interdictions. Beyond formal agreements, U.S. support provides crucial technical assistance, training, equipment, and exchange programs, demonstrating a multi-faceted approach to help reinforce Panama’s security capabilities.
Campos emphasizes that U.S. support is “crucial, since countries in the region allocate most of their budgets to education, health, and employment, making it difficult to sustain operations against criminal organizations that have greater […] resources.”
Part of this cooperation takes the form of joint exercises from major annual events to specialized training missions. The cornerstone is the PANAMAX series, a set of exercises sponsored by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and designed to reinforce the security and defense of the Canal. Beyond these large-scale events, ongoing training is conducted to improve interoperability. For example, in August 2025, 40 U.S. Marines and 40 Panamanian troops trained together to enhance their operational capabilities, as SENAN reported.
SENAN Deputy Commissioner Mayco Palacios, national director of Air and Naval Operations, emphasized the importance of these engagements, stating: “With these actions, together with the PANAMAX exercises, we are strengthening our operational capabilities for the protection of the Panama Canal and the security of the country.” These diverse and consistent joint exercises provide a robust framework for responding to threats across the region.
The strategic partnership extends beyond military training. In August 2025, Panama and SOUTHCOM expanded cooperation in areas such as border control, intelligence, cybersecurity, and disaster management. This was an extension of a prior commitment made in February 2025, when Washington and Panama reinforced their long-term pledge to Canal security.
U.S. cooperation is not limited to the maritime sphere: Agencies such as the Treasury Department and the Financial Intelligence Unit collaborate on money laundering investigations, as many illicit transactions end up involving banks under U.S. jurisdiction. In addition, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintain their ongoing support.
Multilateral cooperation: Europe and regional challenges
Campos emphasizes that international collaboration is not exclusive to the United States. “European countries have also been affected by the transit of drugs from Latin America, which has led to the creation of new security and control programs,” he said.
The Pact 2.0, a European initiative, expanded its scope to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, with the aim of strengthening local capacity in interdiction, intelligence, and regional coordination against transnational organized crime.
Regarding the impact of anti-drug cooperation with the United States and Europe, Campos emphasizes: “The impact of cooperation is already visible, although regional coordination remains weak. While states operate under national legal frameworks, organized crime acts without borders. This asymmetry limits the effectiveness of security plans and raises the need to rethink inter-institutional and judicial cooperation.”
The reality, Campos concludes, is that “no country in Latin America, including Panama, can tackle large-scale criminal structures on its own. For this reason, Panama considers U.S. and international cooperation to be an indispensable component of its strategy against drug trafficking.”
