The San Antonio Police Department and Bexar County Sheriff's Department will train officers with the Panama National Police, under an agreement signed today at Trinity University, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The agreement was signed at Trinity, because Trinity Police Chief Paul Chapa established an international chapter of the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association when he was national president in 2014, and he worked out the arrangement between local agencies, the local FBI and ATF, and Panama.
The local officers will train Panamanian National police on firearm, forensics, and weapons and procedures.
His Excellency Jonattan Del Rosario, the Vice Minister of Public Security of the Republic of Panama, says his country faces threats which are similar to the U.S.
"We both face the same as in the U.S, the border points of control, drug trafficking, gang violence," he said.
He says with its major shipping industry, Panama also faces international security concerns similar to the U.S., and, in many ways, Panama is the front door to North America.
"Drug production has increased in South America, and this is a challenge that starts in Panama," he said.
Much of today's illegal immigration comes from the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, and many of the immigrants first travel to Bolivia or Ecuador, and then cross overland into the U.S., which means they have to travel through Panama.
The agreement will call for Panamanian officers to travel to San Antonio, and for local officers to conduct training in Panama.