Panama President Accuses US Embassy of Visa Threats Amid Pressure to Curb China Ties

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino has accused a United States Embassy official of threatening to revoke the visas of Panamanian government members, escalating tensions as Washington pushes Panama to distance itself from China.

Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Mulino said that “someone at the US Embassy” had been “threatening to take visas,” though he offered no evidence and did not name the official involved.

“Such actions are not coherent with the good relationship I aspire to maintain with the United States,” he said.

The US Embassy in Panama did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Trump administration has declined to discuss individual visa matters.

Mulino’s comments come as the White House intensifies efforts to curb Beijing’s growing footprint in Central America. In a statement last month, the US State Department said Washington would restrict visas for individuals who “maintain relationships with China’s Communist Party or undermine democracy in the region on behalf of China.”

Earlier this week, the Trump administration revoked the visas of six foreign nationals accused of making derogatory comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Similar cases have surfaced across the region in recent months. In April, former Costa Rican president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias revealed his US visa had been cancelled. In July, Costa Rica’s vice president of Congress, Vanessa Castro, said US officials told her her visa was revoked over alleged contacts with Chinese representatives.

Panama’s position is particularly sensitive given the geopolitical importance of the Panama Canal, a key global shipping route long viewed as strategically vital by Washington.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama in February, urging authorities to “reduce China’s influence over the canal” and warning against allowing Chinese-linked firms to operate at both ends of the waterway.

While Panama insists that its canal operations remain neutral and free from foreign control, it has quietly supported US pressure on a Hong Kong-based company to sell its port concessions to a local consortium.

“They’re free to give and take a visa to anyone they want,” Mulino said. “But not threatening that, ‘If you don’t do something, I’ll take the visa.’”

He added that the growing confrontation between Washington and Beijing “doesn’t involve Panama,” stressing his government’s intention to maintain neutrality in the escalating power struggle.