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Panama

People marching in street with a Panamanian flag

Copper mine protests roil in Panama

Development

The government approved a new contract with the mine late last week. Since then, protests have rippled across Panama, and people are afraid they could bring the country to a standstill.

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
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 Bridge of the Americas, located at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal.

China’s new Silk Road runs through Latin America, prompting warnings from the US

On China's New Silk Road
SS Kroonland is seen on 2 February 1915 at the Culebra Cut while transiting the Panama Canal. Kroonland was the largest passenger ship to that time to transit the canal.

The Big Canal

Business, Economics and Jobs
Excavator at work, in Bas Obispo, Panama Canal (1886).

Panama: A historical perspective

Business, Economics and Jobs

A century ago, the building of the Panama Canal and construction of Lake Gatun was met with great fanfare. It captured the attention of the world, showing that the seemingly impossible was indeed possible.

After six years and billions of dollars, the Panama Canal expansion may grind to a halt

Business, Economics and Jobs

The widening of the Panama Canal is nearing completion, and could be ready to allow bigger ships to pass through next year. But a European consortium constructing the new locks says it wants more money to finish the job.

North Korea may be trading missile upgrades for sugar from Cuba

Global Politics

Panama discovered this week that Cuba may be receiving weapons upgrades from North Korea in exchange for sending the reclusive country sugar. North Korea’s trade has been called high-risk, low-reward, however, it could be a sign of just how desperate North Korea is to fix its chronic food shortages.

Nicaraguan Canal

The first ships sailed down the Panama Canal in 1914. Now, nearly one hundred years later, Nicaragua is considering building a canal of its own, with the help of a Chinese developer.

The World

The Darien Gap

The Pan American highway doesn’t go all the way from South America to Canada without interruption. The road breaks in the dense forest between Panama and Columbia known as the Darien Gap. correspondent Jennie Erin Smith visited this beautifully inaccessible region and brought back tales of tamarins and paramilitaries.