US Flexes Muscle in Panama as Trump Keeps Latin America Guessing

May 5, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC

Taking advantage of terrain teeming with pit vipers, boa constrictors and swarms of biting flies, the US military is reviving its jungle training school in Panama after a 25-year hiatus.

The lessons on rainforest survival, medical evacuations and patrols handed down to soldiers, sailors and Marines have taken on new significance as President Donald Trump signals a readiness to launch strikes on Mexican cartel bosses or dismantle Cuban defenses. The warnings seem all the more credible after his surprise capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in January.

The mission — a joint exercise with Panamanian forces — is meant to bolster ...

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