For the first time in more than two decades, the Pentagon has sent ground soldiers and Marines to Panama for jungle warfare training at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, formerly Fort Sherman.

The new 21-day course took American and Panamanian forces through three phases of training focused on survival skills, navigation, and combat in dense tropical terrain. 

Photos released by the military via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service show troops conducting weapons drills and survival exercises, including water purification, shelter building, and moving through thick vegetation. 

Partnerships in action:
U.S. service members and Panamanian security forces are in the midst of a challenging 21-day Combined Jungle Orientation Course in Panama. The course is focused on survival, tactics, and patrol operations with the goal of producing graduates who are not… pic.twitter.com/4847tOo8ip

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) October 20, 2025

“This course stands out because it is a truly multinational, cooperative effort involving the United States and all three Panamanian security institutions,” Capt. Lauryn Westman, the officer in charge of the course said in a press release. “[It] fosters real-time interoperability, survival techniques, and shared tactics.”

A defense official told ABC News that the training is not intended to prepare troops for any specific mission, including potential operations in Venezuela. 

Since September, the Trump administration has been targeting alleged narcotics-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean region just north of Panama, with U.S. officials claiming some of the vessels originated from Venezuela.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, has entered the area of responsibility of U.S. Southern Command, which covers Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The carrier joins other warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and aircraft based in Puerto Rico, forming the largest U.S. military presence in the region in decades, its biggest buildup since the 1989 invasion of Panama.