What changed
2026-07-31 01:30 UTC → 2026-08-04 22:33 UTC ·
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In late July 2026 Panama began hosting the U.S.-organized The United States‑organized Panamax 2026 exercise aimed at bolstering regional security and protecting the began in Panama Canal. The first snapshot (24 July) noted that Argentina had authorized on 27 July and is scheduled to run until 15 August. Argentina, following a decree by President Javier Milei, deployed 56 naval, navy, army and air personnel to join a coalition that already included includes the United States, Panama and several a dozen other Latin American states, and highlighted the drill’s five‑phase plan covering maritime, aerial states such as Brazil, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and cyber operations with U.S. instructors from WHINSEC. A week later, the second snapshot (30 July) reported that around Peru. By 30 July roughly 500 elite troops from eight nations—Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and the Dominican Republic—had arrived in Panama. Organizers expected roughly arrived, with organizers expecting about 1,700 personnel from about around 20 countries once additional contingents, including contingents from Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom and others, joined. others join. The drill continued to emphasize joint naval, land, air follows a five‑phase plan covering maritime, aerial, cyber and special‑operations logistics scenarios aimed at protecting the Panama Canal and logistics testing joint response to counter common threats. Civil‑society groups have voiced criticism about potential sovereignty impacts, concerns that the exercises could impinge on Panama’s sovereignty, while the presence of U.S. Southern Command forces underscored underscores the strategic focus on regional stability. From 3 August to 13 August the United States and Brazil led joint operations with 17 other nations, simulating a coordinated response to a threat against the canal. Simultaneously, U.S. Southern Command announced the creation of a new Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere—replacing Operation Southern Lance—as part of the “Shield of the Americas” coalition to intensify counter‑narcotics efforts against drug‑trafficking cartels, reflecting President Donald Trump’s second‑term policy of expanding U.S. military presence in the Western Hemisphere.