My previous post included a discussion about the US interests in the Panama Canal and the President’s stated aim of retaking the canal. The discussion suggested that talk of a complete takeover might be a negotiating tactic. In any case it suggests that US forces may make a return to the Canal Zone.

This could be significant for the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard might replicate PATFORSWA with a squadron of Webber Class WPCs that would be very useful in interdicting drug traffic in the Eastern Pacific Transit Zone–PATFORCENTAM.

A Coast Guard base and support center, hosting perhaps a reinforced company of Marines, tasked with doing training in Central America, might be enough to satisfy US concerns about the security of the canal.

A Coast Guard base would also probably be more welcomed by Panama than a DOD base that would look like an occupying force. After all, both the US and Panama share an interest in maritime law enforcement and the security of the canal.