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Panamanian government is being asked to review mining contract

Panamanian government is being asked to review mining contract
Photo: La Estrella de Panamá

September 7 |

Inhabitants of communities in the Omar Torrijos Herrera district, in the province of Colon, northern Panama, demanded Wednesday that improvements be made to the contract between the Panamanian State and the transnational company Minera Panama and that local suppliers be taken into account.

During the consultation of the contract with the communities, organized by the National Assembly, residents of the community of Coclesito stated that the relationship with the mining company has produced improvements in income and infrastructure.

However, one resident, Abel Oliveros, asked the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Federico Alfaro, to review the mining contract because there are concepts, such as “expropriating land”, which make the residents vulnerable. He added that for decades the Panamanian government never took their opinions into account.

Another resident of the area and local service provider for the mine, Noemí Solís, stated that the communities around the mining project have the right to develop. She stressed the need for the mining company to prioritize local suppliers and offer them opportunities to grow. He explained that “there are people with the capacity and interest” and that the communities need to receive investment and resources.

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Discussions with communities on Bill 1043, organized by the Parliament’s Trade and Economic Affairs Committee, have already been held in the Donoso district of Colon. After finishing in Coclesito, it is planned to move to the district of La Pintada, in the province of Coclé, south of Coclé.

Once the opinion of the people has been gathered, the first debate of the document will take place in said commission before sending it to the Plenary of the National Assembly.

Last Tuesday, protests were registered in different points of Panama against the referred contract, which would protect the exploitation of copper by the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals LTD. In the opinion of the demonstrators, the contract imposes a colonialist relationship on Panama and would validate the plundering of its natural resources. On the other hand, they denounced that the consultations with the communities are not binding.

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“We will give a warm welcome to the person who won the July elections in Venezuela, and we continue to denounce electoral fraud,” President Chaves stated during his weekly press conference.

Meanwhile, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André explained that González Urrutia is visiting Costa Rica to “inform the president and provide details about the situation in Venezuela, the victory he achieved with over 7 million votes on July 28, and the electoral fraud committed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which fraudulently swore him in as president.”

González Urrutia is currently in Guatemala, having arrived from the Dominican Republic as part of a tour through several countries ahead of the controversial inauguration on January 10, during which the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as president by the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party.

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“We are in a process of transformation, but the commitment must be focused on eradicating the corruption that has oppressed us for so long,” said the president during the presentation of his first government report.

Arévalo de León urged lawmakers to “work together for structural change” in the country and thanked the president of the Legislative Body, Nery Ramos, for their joint efforts in the approval of various laws and the alliances formed during 2024.

The Guatemalan president highlighted as an achievement of his administration the denunciation of dozens of corruption structures embedded in state entities, such as fraud networks involving businessmen and former officials.

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Honduras arrests former military leaders over 2009 killings

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Along with him, the Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Venancio Cervantes, and the former commander of the Joint Operations Command were also detained, according to the Secretary of State for Security (Interior), Gustavo Sánchez, on his social media account X.

“The three arrests were made moments ago by the Honduran Police in coordination with the Public Ministry in Tegucigalpa and La Paz (west),” Sánchez said.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office had issued an arrest warrant for the three ex-military officials “on charges of homicide and aggravated assault” against Obed Murillo and Alex Zavala, who were attacked by “members of the Armed Forces,” according to the Public Ministry.

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