Central America

Central America’s biggest mine faces closure over tax spat

Photo: Luis Acosta / AFP

| By AFP | Francisco Jara |

Rising up through the lush vegetation of Panama’s Caribbean coast, a 125-meter chimney serves as a beacon for helicopters approaching the largest mine in Central America, which faces closure next week over a contract dispute.

Gigantic 400-tonne trucks slowly wind around the stepped slopes of a massive gash in the earth one kilometer wide, the ochre and grey of the copper mine standing in stark contrast to the verdant jungle surrounding it.

The activity could grind to an expensive halt in a matter of days.

Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals has until next Wednesday to sign a new contract with the government, which is demanding the company multiply the taxes it pays by 10.

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If the parties do not agree, the disagreement could halt the work of a mining project considered the largest private investment in Panama’s history, contributing four percent of the country’s GDP and 75 percent of export revenues.

“We have been given a deadline to sign the new contract by December 14, to accept the new terms,” First Quantum’s manager in Panama, Keith Green, who is Scottish, told AFP.

“We intend to reach an agreement, but negotiations are a bit deadlocked,” he added.

First Quantum, one of the largest copper miners in the world, began commercial copper production at the site in Donoso in 2019, through its subsidiary Minera Panama.

It has spent $10 billion on earthworks, construction buildings to house more than 7,000 employees, the purchase of heavy machinery, a power plant, a port for deep-draft merchant ships, access roads, and re-forestation plans.

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‘Fair income’

President Laurentino Cortizo in January announced plans to toughen the conditions of the mining license, with a new contract that would oblige the mining company to pay “at least” $375 million to Panama annually — ten times what it is currently paying.

“Panama has the inalienable right to receive fair income from the extraction of its mineral resources, because the copper is Panamanian,” he said.

This mine is “the biggest in Central America,” producing 300,000 tons of copper concentrate per year, said Green.

The deposit, discovered in 1968, lies on the Caribbean coast, 240 kilometers by road from the capital Panama City.

The company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, built the Punta Rincon International Port next to the mine to transport the copper by ship, due to a lack of roads connecting the Colon port, 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.

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Despite the uncertainty over the mine’s future, activity has not slowed and the company has continued to invest in the site.

A new 200-tonne drilling rig — as tall as a three-story building — was inaugurated in a ceremony on Tuesday, causing heavy air traffic.

Helicopter pilot Oldemar Arauz explains that most officials visiting the mine prefer the one-hour air trip to the four-hour drive on a narrow road from the capital.

The drilling rig, made in the United States by the Swedish company Epiroc, cost $6 million, and was transported to the mine in 10 trucks.

“Latin America has 200 of these drills, 50 in Chile and now three in Panama,” said Epiroc’s Latin America manager Hans Traub.

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The drill was assembled by Chilean engineer Alex Gonzalez, who previously worked in Chuquicamata, the world’s largest open pit copper mine, situated in the Atacama desert, which has been operating since 1915.

Central America does not have the same mining tradition seen further south. Mining is illegal in Costa Rica and El Salvador, and while there is much potential for growth in Panama, the industry’s future is now hanging in the balance.

Related Topics:Central America Mine Panamá

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Central America

U.S. and Guatemala Sign Trade Deal Granting Zero Tariffs to Most Exports

The United States signed a reciprocal trade agreement with Guatemala on Friday, under which 70.4% of Guatemalan exports will enter the U.S. market tariff-free.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo highlighted the importance of the agreement, stating that it creates a framework of cooperation, certainty, and new opportunities for producers, workers, and entrepreneurs in the country. His remarks were shared in a video published on his official social media channels.

In 2025, 30.3% of Guatemala’s total exports were destined for the United States, amounting to approximately $4.3 billion. As a result, the agreement is expected to directly benefit key sectors of the Guatemalan economy, including agribusiness, manufacturing, and the textile industry.

“Today we have taken another step toward consolidating a country that, when it moves forward united, generates confidence, attracts investment, and creates real development opportunities for all its people,” Arévalo added.

The agreement with Guatemala follows a similar trade deal signed by the United States with El Salvador on Thursday, which includes the elimination of a 10% tariff on Salvadoran imports.

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Central America

Panama Supreme Court Strikes Down Panama Ports Concession as Unconstitutional

Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice has ruled unconstitutional the concession contract granted in 1997 to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison, which operates two strategic ports along the interoceanic canal. The decision was announced on Thursday, January 29, 2026, following two lawsuits filed by the Comptroller General’s Office.

The ruling directly affects the management of the ports of Balboa, on the Pacific coast, and Cristóbal, on the Atlantic side, both of which have been operated by the company for nearly three decades. According to Panama’s Comptroller General, Anel Flores, an audit uncovered irregularities in the contract that resulted in more than $1.3 billion failing to enter state coffers.

“It is a predatory contract, abusive to the interests of the country,” Flores stated.

The Supreme Court determined that Law 5 of 1997, its subsequent amendments, and the automatic extension granted in 2021 are unconstitutional. The ruling noted that the contract renewal took place without adequate oversight and amid allegations of corruption, despite the Panamanian state holding only a 10% stake in the company.

Central America

Guatemala President Says Starlink Terminal Found Inside Prison

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo revealed on Tuesday that a Starlink terminal was discovered inside a prison in the country, highlighting corruption and the illegal introduction of advanced communication technology into the penitentiary system.

Arévalo did not specify which prison the device was found in but stressed that Starlink’s ability to connect directly to low-orbit satellites makes it particularly difficult to disrupt, posing a serious security risk.

The disclosure was made during a press conference attended by Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda and Defense Minister Henry Sáenz.

On January 6, specialized units of Guatemala’s National Civil Police (PNC), members of the Army and prison security personnel carried out Operation Sentinel at the Renovación 1 Maximum Security Prison for Men, located in Escuintla. According to the Interior Ministry, the operation aimed to reduce criminal activity, prevent illicit acts and stop the trafficking of prohibited items inside the prison.

During the operation, authorities also dismantled businesses operating near several prisons after detecting routers that were allegedly used to redirect internet signals into penitentiary facilities, according to local outlet Emisoras Unidas.

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Tensions escalated further over the weekend of January 17 and 18, when inmates affiliated with gangs staged riots in three prisons. During the unrest, they took prison guards and a psychologist hostage, demanding extra-large beds, air conditioning, transfers to other facilities and access to the internet.