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# U.S. Denies 600-Troop Deployment to Panama
- URL: https://balboa.news/u-s-denies-600-troop-deployment-to-panama/
- Published: 2026-10-15T13:53:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T13:53:35.000Z
- Author: Balboa News Desk
- Tags: Politics

The United States has denied reports that it is sending 600 soldiers to Panama, while confirming that 120 American troops are currently undertaking temporary jungle training in the country.

The U.S. Embassy described the reported 600-soldier deployment as “categorically false” in a statement issued on October 14\. It said the personnel presently in Panama belong to the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York.

According to the embassy, the soldiers are attending a two-week jungle-operations course at the invitation of the Panamanian government. The course is scheduled to conclude on October 25, when the participants will return to their home base.

The statement responded to a report by *The New York Times* that approximately 600 soldiers from the division were being assigned to training and exercises in Latin America as Washington expands its regional campaign against drug-trafficking organizations.

That reporting said the first soldiers would train in Panama before some personnel participated in activities elsewhere, including Colombia and Honduras. Fox News subsequently cited a senior U.S. official confirming that a roughly 600-member unit was being placed under U.S. Southern Command for regional assignments.

The two accounts are therefore not necessarily direct opposites. The embassy expressly denies that 600 soldiers are being sent to Panama, while American media reports describe a larger regional deployment whose personnel may rotate through different countries. No publicly released Pentagon order has clarified how many soldiers could pass through Panama over the entire mission.

The embassy said Panama’s jungle-operations centre has operated for more than a year as a U.S.-recognized training school. Panamanian and American instructors jointly conduct courses there, with graduates receiving a Jungle Tab and completion certificate.

The presence of U.S. military personnel remains politically sensitive in Panama. An April 2025 security memorandum expanded cooperation and temporary troop rotations but generated criticism from opponents who argued that it could enable a renewed foreign military presence.

Panama has no standing army, and its Constitution prohibits permanent foreign military bases. Neither government has announced the establishment of such a base or a permanent 600-member force.

**Sources:** La Estrella