Oversight Committee Probes Chinese Communist Party’s Growing Influence in Panama, Requests DOT Briefing

WASHINGTON—Today, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is launching an investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) expanding influence in Panama, particularly surrounding the strategic operations of the Panama Canal. In a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy, Chairman Comer emphasized that any malign influence by the CCP undermining Panama Canal operations poses a serious threat to American economic and national security and requested a staff-level briefing to understand how the DOT plans to counter Chinese influence in Panama.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is examining the Chinese Communist Party’s interference and influence in Panama. Given the Panama Canal’s strategic importance to the United States, any potential malign influence or outright interference in Panama by the CCP is cause for significant concern. Therefore, the Committee asks the Department of Transportation to provide a staff-level briefing to address how it plans to counter Chinese influence in Panama and ensure the security and neutrality of the canal is maintained. The Panama Canal hosts approximately 40 percent of the United States container traffic, which accounts for roughly $240 billion annually in trade,” wrote Chairman Comer.

“Panama maintains a policy of neutrality regarding the canal, a result of the treaty signed that turned ownership from the United States to Panama. On the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal sit two ports, both owned and operated by Hutchison—a Hong Kong shipping corporation.  Hutchison ports have repeatedly been implicated in the smuggling of fentanyl precursors into the Americas, and its owner, Li Ka-Shing, is a member of Chinese organized crime syndicates that work to advance the interests of the CCP in the west. In March of 2025 Hutchison announced it would sell its 90 percent share in Panamanian ports. Following the announcement, the CCP expressed fury at the sale, and while initially stating they would block it, China has now instead resorted to watching the sale closely to ensure the company operating the ports is not American. While Panama has expressed interest in expelling CCP influence from the country, evidenced by their termination of the Chinese belt-and-road initiative in Panama, the situation is still tenuous and requires oversight,” concluded Chairman Comer.

Read the letter here.