Beijing condemns the demolition of a monument honoring the Chinese community in Panama

PANAMA CITY (AP) — China on Monday condemned the demolition of a monument honoring the Chinese community in Panama, the latest development as the Trump administration pushes for the Central American nation to distance itself from Beijing.

Panama's president echoed the condemnation, blaming local authorities and pledging that the monument would be rebuilt.

Overnight, videos circulated on social media showing large excavators tearing down the monument, which commemorated 150 years of Chinese presence in Panama and Chinese migrants who helped build railroads and the Panama Canal.

Erected in 2004 with traditional Chinese architectural elements — including a ceremonial arch, curved roof tiles and stone lions — it stood at a scenic overlook near the Panama Canal.

By morning, construction workers were removing the leftover rubble. All that was left of the monument were two broken stone lions placed next to the curb.

The Chinese Embassy in Panama accused the local authorities in Panama of having “brazenly and forcibly demolished” the monument and “seriously damaged the friendly sentiments of the Chinese people towards the Panamanian people.”

Xu Xueyuan, the Chinese ambassador, demanded an explanation in a post on X.

“This monument, which held 171 years of life, blood, and dedication from the Chinese community, has been shattered to pieces,” the ambassador wrote. “A symbol of China-Panama friendship, reduced to nothing. And I ask: why?”

U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that China exerts control over the canal, which is run by an independent authority. Trump has provided little evidence to back his claim and Panama’s government has repeatedly rejected the assertion.

Trump has pushed to offset economic ties between Latin American nations and China, which have strengthened in recent years as China outpaced American investment in much of the region.

The office of the local government, the Arraiján mayorship, said the monument was demolished because it presented “structural risks” for public safety, dismissing allegations it was a political move. The statement did not say why the demolition was carried out at night.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino said there was “no justification whatsoever for the barbarity" of the demolition and announced the federal government would rebuild the monument.

“This is a traditional community in our country spanning back generations," he said on X. "They deserve all our respect. An investigation should be initiated immediately. Such an act of irrationality is unforgivable.”

Both Panamanians and Chinese were angry at the demolition. Some members of the Chinese community staged a protest at the site while some businesses said they would shut down in protest.

Panamanian tour guide Jaime Bustos said he was shocked when he took a group of Italian tourists to visit the monument.

“They helped build our interoceanic railway, they helped build the Panama Canal, and they're helping our country's economy,” he said, speaking of the Chinese community in Panama. “I believe this was a cruel act.”

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalist Alma Solís in Panama City contributed to this report.

FILE - A police officer walks by a monument honoring 150 years of the Chinese community in Panama City, June 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal Homeland Security officials were conducting a fraud investigation on Monday in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

The action comes after years of investigation that began with the $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted. Prosecutors said the organization was at the center of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud scam, when defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children.

A federal prosecutor alleged earlier in December that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen. Most of the defendants are Somali Americans, they said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said then that fraud will not be tolerated and that his administration “will continue to work with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught.”

Noem on Monday posted a video on the social platform X showing DHS officers going into an unidentified business and questioning the person working behind the counter. Noem said that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud."

“The American people deserve answers on how their taxpayer money is being used and ARRESTS when abuse is found,” U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement posted.

The action comes a day after FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the agency had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

Patel said that previous fraud arrests in Minnesota were “just the tip of a very large iceberg."

President Donald Trump has criticized Walz’s administration over the fraud cases to date.

In recent weeks, tensions have been high between state and federal enforcement in the area as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown focused on the Somali community in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which is the largest in the country.

Among those running schemes to get funds for child nutrition, housing services and autism programs, 82 of the 92 defendants are Somali Americans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.

Walz spokesperson Claire Lancaster said that the governor has worked for years to “crack down on fraud” and was seeking more authority from the Legislature to take aggressive action. Walz has supported criminal prosecutions and taken a number of other steps, including strengthening oversight and hiring an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, Lancaster said.

FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)