A monument honoring Panama’s Chinese community at a scenic overlook near the Panama Canal was demolished late Saturday night, setting off a political storm that has drawn condemnation from the country’s president and sharp reactions from Chinese diplomats.
The structures at Mirador de las Américas — an obelisk and a friendship arch erected in 2004 to recognize the contributions of Panama’s longstanding Chinese population — were removed on orders from local authorities, according to The Washington Post. The move has fueled accusations that domestic politics and intensifying U.S.-China rivalry over influence around the canal played a role.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino denounced the demolition on social media.
No hay justificación alguna para la barbaridad cometida por la alcaldesa de Arraijan al derrumbar el monumento a la Comunidad China construido en el Puente de las Américas. Esa comunidad es tradicional en nuestro país con generaciones establecidas en nuestro país y merece todo…
— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) December 28, 2025
The controversy unfolds amid heightened U.S. pressure on Panama over Chinese influence near the canal, which carries a significant share of American shipping traffic. President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that China effectively controls the waterway and has threatened to reclaim U.S. oversight, potentially through military means.
Stefany Peñalba, mayor of the district where the site is located, said the teardown was necessary for public safety because of structural deterioration. She insisted the decision was “not in response to any political pressure.”
Despite those assurances, the timing has raised questions. Earlier this year, Panama withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative — becoming the first Latin American nation to do so — following warnings from U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The government has also agreed to remove Chinese-owned telecommunications infrastructure and allow U.S. military access to former training sites near the canal.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has described such arrangements as efforts to prevent Panama from “capitulating to coercion by the communist Chinese.”
“[China’s] growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot and will not stand,” he added.
Members of Panama’s Chinese-descendant community said the demolition struck at national memory. Tony Jiang, president of the Fayen Beneficiary Society, told reporters at the site the night of the teardown: “This monument belongs to the Panamanian people. She doesn’t have the right to change Panamanian history. For us as Panamanians of Chinese descent, it’s painful. For all Panamanians, it’s painful.”
China’s ambassador to Panama, Xu Xueyuan, described the public reaction as “a wave of indignation, saying the monument Panama’s “national spirit of inclusion and respect for history.”
During is inaugural address, President Trump promised to reclaim the Panama Canal.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama and the State Department declined to comment. The canal — built by the United States and transferred to Panamanian control in 1999 — remains a flashpoint in great-power competition. Trump has also accused Panama of imposing excessive fees on U.S. vessels, a claim canal authorities deny.
