LatinNews Daily - 24 October 2022

Panama: From 17-18 October the commander of US Southern Command (Southcom),  Gen. Laura Richardson, visited Panama where she led the US delegation for the sixth meeting of the High-Level Security Dialogue (HLSD) between Panama and the US. In addition to the HLSD, Richardson joined Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo for a ceremony on 17 October as the US donated a King Air 250 maritime patrol aircraft to Panama. During the HLSD on 17 October, delegations from both nations discussed issues such as “irregular migration, the importance of a domain forfeiture law, prevention of money laundering and illegal fishing,” as well as the “fight against drug trafficking and organized crime” according to a Southcom press release. The four pillars of the bilateral security dialogue were border security, citizen security, maritime security and cybersecurity, according to the same source. Richardson also met with President Cortizo 17 October to discuss bilateral cooperation on security issues. On the same day she also met with the Panama Canal administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, to discuss the safety of the canal. On 18 October Richardson accompanied Panama’s Public Security Minister Juan Pino to visit Panamanian security forces operating in the Darién Gap – the land bridge connecting Panama and Colombia that is seeing record migration and an evolving humanitarian crisis.

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