Author: Sebastian Pieper

More than 1,600 of Japan’s most powerful corporations now have Panama in their sights. The Keidanren Japan Business Federation, the country’s premier private sector organization, sent a high-level delegation to Panama City this week for talks that could reshape the Central American nation’s infrastructure landscape. The meeting, held at the Palacio de las Garzas, signals a potential surge in Japanese investment across multiple sectors. Fujimoto Masayoshi, who leads Keidanren’s Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean and serves as president of Sojitz Corporation, made the stakes clear. He told President Mulino that Panama plays a vital role in global supply…

Nearly 500 children huddle in emergency shelters across Bocas del Toro after torrential rains submerged entire communities. Medical teams report rising cases of vomiting and diarrhea among the youngest survivors. Officials say the situation remains precarious as more storms threaten the region. The province’s Emergency Operations Center confirmed that approximately 1,800 people have been affected by the flooding. Of those, 800 individuals are currently staying in five temporary shelters. These facilities are located in Teobroma, Cuatro de Abril, Puente Blanco, Finca 4, and the Unión Boca Toreña community center. The numbers paint a stark picture of a region struggling to…

Wildlife officials in Panama pulled off a significant bust this week, intercepting 119 Hawksbill turtle eggs being transported illegally through the Bocas del Toro province. The operation, carried out by the Ministry of Environment (MiAmbiente), targeted traffickers who exploit these critically endangered creatures for profit. “Every egg we protect is one more step toward the survival of sea turtles,” authorities stated during the announcement of the seizure. [Translated from Spanish] The eggs were discovered during a routine inspection, hidden in containers meant to avoid detection. Rather than letting the contraband go to waste, officials relocated the eggs to a key…

A mother in Panama City recently tried to check if a neighbor working at her child’s school had a history of sexual offenses. She couldn’t. The law says she should be able to, but the online tool simply does not exist yet. This gap between legislation and reality is causing frustration among parents and lawmakers alike. Panama passed a law in November 2025 making the official sex offender database accessible to anyone. But months later, the promised platform remains unavailable. Deputy Paulette Thomas has now stepped in to push for answers. She announced plans to meet with the Ministry of…

In the hushed solemnity of Panama City’s historic Casco Antiguo district, a different kind of tremor shook the congregation. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado stood before the altar of the Panama Cathedral Santa Maria la Antigua, her voice cracking with emotion. She had come to pray for the dead, but she left with a promise that echoed through the marble columns. “Venezuela will rise with more force than ever,” she declared, her words a mixture of grief and defiance. [Translated from Spanish] The Sunday mass was a memorial for the victims of the devastating June 24 earthquakes that shattered…

The man who currently oversees Panama’s public spending oversight is pushing for changes that could fundamentally reshape how the country investigates financial crimes against the state. Jaime Barroso, the nation’s top audit prosecutor, revealed in a recent interview that he wants new legal tools to act faster when public money goes missing. Barroso will soon trade his current role for a seat on the Panama Electoral Tribunal, but his immediate focus remains on strengthening the institution he currently leads. The proposed reforms target Law 67 from November 2008, the legislation that created and governs the General Audit Office and the…

Deep beneath Panama City, a 13-year-old tunnel carries thousands of passengers daily along Line 1 of the Panama City metro system. That tunnel, like the trains that race through it, is showing its age. Now the Metro de Panama is preparing its most ambitious maintenance push yet, with $150 million in planned investments to keep both lines running safely and efficiently. The numbers tell a stark story. Line 1 trains have logged roughly 1.3 million kilometers since operations began in 2014. That is the equivalent of circling the Earth more than 32 times. Line 2, though younger at seven years…

Panama’s border security forces have swept through communities near the Costa Rican frontier, arresting roughly 20 people in a targeted operation against drug distribution networks. The actions, concentrated in the western districts of Bugaba and Barú, signal an intensified push to dismantle local drug markets that have taken root in border towns. Alexis de Gracia, the Operations Chief for Senafront (National Border Service), confirmed that most of those detained are linked to street-level drug sales, known as micro-trafficking. The operations began in Bugaba before expanding south toward Paso Canoas, a bustling border crossing, and into the banana plantation zones and…

Ten families across Panama are grieving this month. The Panama Ministry of Health has confirmed that dengue fever has claimed 10 lives so far in 2026, with the latest epidemiological bulletin showing the virus continues to spread unevenly across the country. While overall hospitalizations have dropped, health officials remain concerned about specific age groups and regions. The numbers tell a complex story. Through June 20, Panama has recorded 3,345 Dengue cases Panama 2026, according to the Ministry of Health’s weekly report. Of those infected, 2,919 people have mild cases with no warning signs. Another 406 patients are showing severe symptoms,…

Heavy rains have turned streets into rivers in Panama’s western provinces, forcing families to flee their homes. President Jose Raul Mulino announced that his administration is coordinating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the hardest-hit areas, including the Bocas del Toro province and the Ngäbe-Buglé region. The flooding has overwhelmed local infrastructure, leaving many communities cut off. Residents in low-lying areas near Changuinola received the most urgent warnings. Authorities have opened several schools in the Changuinola district as temporary shelters. These facilities are now housing people who evacuated from neighborhoods where water levels rose dangerously fast. The Ministry of Government…