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Panama

A colorful mural with words in Spanish that read "Never forget, never forgive."

Panamanians remember 1989 US invasion and continue to demand justice and accountability

Conflict & Justice

Dec. 20 is a national day of mourning in Panama in memory of the victims of the 1989 US invasion of the country. At the time, it was the largest invasion since Vietnam and the first after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the US, it was heralded as liberating the country from dictator Manuel Noriega, a former US ally. But in Panama, many saw it as something much different. The victims of the US action are still demanding justice.

People marching in street with a Panamanian flag

Copper mine protests roil in Panama

Development
Two young Panamanians view the solar eclipse.

‘The cosmovision of our ancestors’: Panama witnesses first solar eclipse in 25 years

Sacred Nation
A police officer searches and checks the documents of a man living in the Kiwanis Community, during a preventive patrol in search of gang members in Soyapango, El Salvador, Aug. 16, 2022, amid a state of exception.

El Salvador imprisons dozens of foreign visitors in crackdown on crime

Conflict & Justice
Three families from Afghanistan prepare to board a boat in Necocli, Colombia, that will take them towards the border with Panama.

Afghan families traverse most of Latin America to seek asylum at the US border

Immigration
After migrants arrive in Capurgana's harbor, they are loaded on tuk-tuks and taken to the shelter on the edge of town.

Migration across Darién Gap changes Colombian village’s economy

Migration

In the small village of Capurgana, at the entrance to the Darién jungle and near Colombia’s border with Panama, hundreds of villagers now work as guides and porters leading migrants across the rainforest.

Migrants cross the Acandi River on their journey north, near Acandi, Colombia, on Sept. 15, 2021. 

‘I survived a green hell’: More Venezuelans are crossing the dangerous Darién Gap

Migration

A growing number of people from Venezuela have been making the risky crossing through the Darién Gap in recent weeks. Jose Loya decided to make the difficult trek, citing xenophobia and discrimination as some of the main reasons why he chose to leave Peru, where he was living with his wife and child.

A babbling pup produces distinct syllables, visualized in this composite image.

Bat pups babble and bat moms use baby talk, hinting at the evolution of human language

Development

A researcher finds a remarkable link between how baby bats babble in monosyllables as they learn to speak in the same way that human infants do.

Aerial view of the green vegetation of the Darien jungle

46K migrants risked their lives crossing the Darién Gap in 2021. That’s more than the last three years combined.

Migration

The Darién Gap, which connects Colombia to Panama, is a jungle with ruthless terrain. But despite its daunting obstacles — including robberies and life-threatening routes — at least 46,000 migrants have made the journey this year alone in an attempt to make it to the US.

A man is shown wearing a blue hat and standing in front of dozens of white crosses while painting numbers on the crosses.

Discussion: A deepening coronavirus crisis in Latin America

Coronavirus Conversations

Latin America and the Caribbean now register a million new COVID-19 infections about every six days. With the vaccine rollout lagging and lives and livelihoods hanging in the balance, what is next for the region? As part of The World’s series of conversations on the pandemic with Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with demographer Marcia Castro.