Central America

Panama’s indigenous people compete to preserve traditional way of life

AFP

Climaco Dogirama wanted to honor his grandfather when he took part in the spear-throwing competition at Panama’s Indigenous Ancestral Games, which seek to preserve age-old customs.

“My grandfather used the spear to hunt. We only use it for sport … but we’re representing him,” he told AFP.

Dogirama, 37, from the Embera community, is one of 250 competitors from Panama’s seven recognized Indigenous ethnicities taking part in traditional athletic feats at the Games.

The major cultural festival transcends the simple quest for sporting success by helping to preserve a way of life.

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“Many of us have lost (our traditions) and we’re recovering them again, we’re rescuing (our ancestors’) culture,” said Dogirama.

It is the third edition of the event that resembles the Scottish Highland Games and Basque rural sports competitions.

In Panama, contestants compete in archery, spear throwing, log carrying, tug-of-war, running, swimming and canoeing in Ngabe-Bugle, the largest of Panama’s five traditional Indigenous regions.

Cesar Cires, from the Ngabe tribe and president of the Indigenous Ancestral Games said the event “was born with the idea of disseminating, preserving and promoting our Indigenous cultures through ancestral sporting activities.”

“Our ancestors were warriors. We try to teach the new generations that once upon a time this was important.”

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David Mezua, 18, who won the open water swimming event in the Caribbean Sea, said he was “proud to be Embera.”

“I’m happy … My grandfather was too and I don’t want to lose our culture, I want to keep it going,” said Mezua.

Kasey Shields, 16, who has a British father and Guna mother, won the women’s swimming discipline.

“I love swimming and even more so my Indigenous culture. I want to learn much more” about it, she said.

Cires said Panama competed in the last two editions of the World Indigenous Games in Brazil in 2015 and Canada two years later.

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He said they will send a delegation to the third edition in Brazil next year,

The seven recognized Indigenous ethnicities in Panama are the Ngabe, Bugle, Guna, Embera, Wounaan, Bri bri and Naso Tjerdi.

Altogether they represent 12 percent of Panama’s 4.3 million population, according to the last official census in 2010.

According to the Denmark-based International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs, these communities “are facing a number of challenges, especially in relation to recognition of and rights to territories as well as forcible eviction.”

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Central America

U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme

The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.

Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.

The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.

Central America

Bukele administration surpasses 1,100 homicide-free days amid ongoing crackdown

El Salvador's PNC adds 85 days without murders and April is on track to be the safest in Salvadoran history

On Saturday, April 18, the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) reported that no homicides were recorded in El Salvador, bringing the total to 17 days without murders.

With this update, the country has accumulated 91 homicide-free days so far in 2026. January closed with 27 such days, followed by 24 in February and 23 in March, according to police data.

During the administration of President Nayib Bukele, a total of 1,193 days without homicides have been registered. Of those, 1,079 have occurred since the implementation of the state of exception.

This extraordinary security measure has been extended 49 times by the Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador, with the latest extension in effect from April 1 to April 30, 2026. Under the measure, more than 91,700 gang members and collaborators have been detained and prosecuted for illicit association.

Central America

Panama and OECD sign deal to boost investment climate and global integration

The Government of Panama and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) signed an agreement this Friday in Paris aimed at improving the country’s investment climate through data exchange, expert missions, and policy benchmarking.

“This is not a symbolic act. It is a strategic decision. A statement of intent. A commitment to transformation,” said Panama’s Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez-Acha, following the signing, according to an official statement.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Martínez-Acha and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann at the organization’s headquarters in the French capital.

According to Panama’s Foreign Ministry, the agreement establishes “a solid and forward-looking framework for cooperation,” enabling high-level technical collaboration through data sharing, comparative policy analysis, expert missions, and evidence-based recommendations.

Authorities stated that the initiative is expected to enhance the investment environment, boost competitiveness, and improve predictability, while also strengthening governance, fostering innovation, increasing human capital, and aligning the education system with global economic demands.

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The agreement also opens the door for Panama to deepen its participation within OECD bodies, allowing the country to take part in discussions where global standards are defined.

Since taking office in July 2024, President José Raúl Mulino has prioritized efforts to remove Panama from international lists that label it as a tax haven, which his administration considers discriminatory.

As part of this strategy, the government restricted the participation of most European companies—except those from Spain, Italy, and Greece—in public tenders for major infrastructure projects, including a planned railway to the border with Costa Rica and a gas pipeline near the Panama Canal. This move came after the European Union kept Panama on its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

Over the past year, Panama has made progress in this area, including its removal from the European Parliament’s money laundering list and Ecuador’s tax haven list.