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

Costa Rica urges China to halt actions against Panama-flagged vessels

The government of Costa Rica on Saturday called on China to halt retaliatory actions against vessels flying the Panamaflag, amid escalating tensions over control of two strategic ports linked to the Panama Canal.

In a statement shared on social media, Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry warned that the situation “puts global trade at risk” and expressed its “deep concern and strongest condemnation” over what it described as “arbitrary and unjustified delays and inspections in Chinese ports.”

The Costa Rican government urged “full respect for international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” while reaffirming its “unconditional support and solidarity” with Panama.

San José’s position aligns with growing international criticism from countries including Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Israeland Ukraine.

Paraguayan authorities described the detentions as “unacceptable” and pointed to what they called “undue pressure” on the Panamanian government.

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Central America

El Salvador sees 45% surge in international tourists during holiday period

Tourism in El Salvador continues to grow during the holiday period, with a 45% increase in international arrivals compared to 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism.

Tourism Minister Morena Valdez reported that the country received around 48,000 foreign visitors between Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29, surpassing the 33,000 recorded during the same period last year.

International visitor behavior remains consistent, with most travelers arriving at the El Salvador International Airport and heading directly to coastal destinations, particularly Surf City and the beaches of La Libertad.

“Sun and beach tourism accounts for 80% of global travel demand. Surf City, with all the positioning work that has been done, is where visitors go, especially because it is close to the airport,” Valdez said in an interview.

However, tourism activity is not limited to La Libertad. Other destinations such as Costa del Sol, Surf City 2, as well as beaches in the western and eastern regions of the country, are also experiencing high visitor traffic.

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Central America

Panama seizes over 1,200 drug packages in container bound for Lithuania

Authorities in Panama reported the seizure of 1,251 packages of suspected drugs hidden inside a shipping container bound for Lithuania, just days after intercepting another shipment of similar size headed to the same destination.

The Panama Public Prosecutor’s Office stated on social media that, through its Colón Drug Prosecutor’s Office and in coordination with the National Anti-Drug Directorate, authorities carried out the operation. The illicit substance was discovered inside a container scheduled for export.

Last Friday, officials also seized 1,506 packages of drugs in another container destined for Lithuania.

While authorities have not specified the type or exact weight of the seized substance, drug packages in Panama typically weigh around one kilogram each, and cocaine remains the most commonly confiscated narcotic in the country.

So far this year, Panamanian authorities have reported multiple drug seizures. Among them was a shipment of 5,356 packages intercepted on January 17, when agents of the National Aeronaval Service (SENAN) stopped a vessel near the Pearl Islands archipelago in the Pacific.

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According to official figures, in 2025 Panama seized 129 tons of drugs and 47.8 tons of chemical precursors, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat international drug trafficking.