Panama ex-president's U.S. visa revoked: summary

What we know

• The United States has revoked the visa of former Panamanian President Martín Torrijos following his public criticism of a recent U.S.-Panama military agreement.
• The deal was signed in April 2025, and it allows the U.S. to use Panamanian air and naval bases for renewable three-year periods under the label of "training purposes."
• The deal rekindles tensions over U.S. military presence in Panama, which ended with the full canal handover in 1999.
• Torrijos called the visa move a warning to all Panamanians, accusing Washington of punishing dissent and reversing decades of sovereign progress.
• Ricardo Lombana, a 2024 presidential candidate in Panama, also reported his U.S. visa was revoked. Former Costa Rican President Óscar Arias faced a similar action in April 2025 after criticising U.S. policies.
• The issue surfaces amid U.S. concerns over Chinese involvement in Panama Canal operations and a push by U.S. President Donald Trump to "reclaim" influence in the region.

What they said

Former presidential candidate, Ricardo Lombana, stated that, “the unilateral decision to cancel visas is a sovereign power of each state. Today I was informed of the revocation of my US visa, as they have done with other political leaders.”