Central America
Panamanian university community demands repeal of mining contract
November 23 |
Professors, students, and administrative staff of the University of Panama marched this Wednesday to the Supreme Court of Justice of that country to demand the ruling of unconstitutionality of Law 406.
The rector of the university, Eduardo Flores, said that the protesters also intend to deliver an open letter, addressed to the authorities, in which they argue why the contract with Minera Panama, a branch of the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals, is unconstitutional.
The document states that “the legislative procedure followed for the approval of this contract-law violates the constitutional norms” since it can only be “approved or rejected”, “there is no power to return it in order to make modifications to its content, as it happened”.
The letter denounced that “the contract, contained in law 406, violates the constitutional norms on the ecological regime which oblige the State to guarantee that the population lives in a healthy environment free of contamination”, in reference to the fact that the area granted for this mining exploitation is within the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
The text argued that this is the largest open-pit copper mine in Central America, as well as that it “violates the human right of Panamanians to live in a healthy environment and implies the abandonment of the Panamanian State of the protection, preservation and improvement of that environment”.
Finally, the document urged the Supreme Court to “pronounce in a timely manner and in law, but also in accordance with the arguments made by the great majority of the Panamanian people in favor of the unconstitutionality and inconvenience of the referred mining contract”.
Central America
Panama’s President Mulino: “We are regaining international trust” to exit tax haven lists
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino stated on Tuesday that the Central American country is “regaining international trust” regarding lists that label it as a tax haven, and that it hopes to be removed from these lists in the near future.
“At the international level, we are regaining confidence. Panama is taking firm steps to get off the European Union’s list, thanks to the coordinated work of various institutions,” Mulino said during his first-year report speech before the deputies.
The Panamanian president emphasized that he has “increased” his “engagement” with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “not only with the aim of leaving these lists but also to begin our path toward joining that important group of democratic states and prosperous economies.”
Since taking office on July 1, 2024, Mulino has stressed that he will work to have Panama removed from what he calls “discriminatory” lists that consider it a tax haven. He has even focused part of his official conversations during trips to Europe on this issue.
Currently, Panama has strengthened banking regulations following the 2016 Panama Papers scandal. However, it remains on some lists, such as that of the Netherlands, while it has been removed from others, including the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in 2023.
Additionally, the European Commission recommended in June that Panama be removed from its list of jurisdictions with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. The European Parliament and member states still have a month (extendable to two) to review the proposal, and unless opposed, it will take effect after that period.
Central America
Castro to address FfD4 in Spain as Global Financial Reform takes center stage
Honduran President Xiomara Castro will participate in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), to be held in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, Honduran Ambassador to Spain Marlon Brevé announced on Saturday.
The president is expected to arrive in Seville on Sunday and deliver her address on Monday, according to the diplomat.
Castro will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Javier Bu, her private secretary and son Héctor Zelaya, and Finance Minister Christian Duarte.
Spain is hosting the FfD4 conference at a critical time, as global development cooperation budgets face constraints while humanitarian needs continue to grow due to conflicts, political instability, and the climate crisis.
The conference will bring together world leaders, international organizations, private sector representatives, and civil society, aiming to review and reorient global development financing strategies.
Organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) through its Office for Financing for Sustainable Development, this high-level forum has been held since 2002 to promote structural financial reforms.
Key goals of the FfD4 include mobilizing greater volumes of capital at lower costs and reforming the international financial architecture to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and meet the urgent needs of developing nations.
Central America
Migrants stranded in Panama amid US Policy crackdown and Darién gap barriers
Migrants who once dreamed of reaching the United States are now forced to head back south after the arrival of President Donald Trump and stricter immigration policies. Many are stranded in Panama, caught between the Darién jungle barrier and the high costs of crossing the Caribbean Sea.
In Miramar, a small coastal town in Panama, dozens of migrants—mostly Venezuelans—wait for a chance to continue their journey to Colombia. Private boat rides to the border are out of reach for many, with fares reaching up to $260 per person.
“Here we’re stopped by the sea and the money. If it were a road, we’d already be in Colombia. But paying for three tickets for me and my children is impossible,” lamented Marielbis Eloina Campos, a 33-year-old Venezuelan traveling alone with her four young children after waiting a week in Miramar.
Campos left Brazil in 2023 and crossed the dangerous Darién jungle alone with her children, one carried on her back. The journey took six days, and she recalls one child nearly drowning while crossing a river. Despite the risks, she reached Mexico City, where she stayed over a year waiting for an asylum appointment via the CBP-One app. However, its cancellation under the Trump administration forced her to give up and return to Brazil.
“Mexico is torture for us migrants. I feared my children would be kidnapped,” said Campos, who pleaded for help to continue without being chased as if immigration authorities were “a mafia.”
Due to the high cost of private transport, Panama organized a humanitarian trip that transported 109 migrants from nine nationalities from Colón to the Colombian border aboard an official boat of the National Aeronaval Service (Senan). Another similar operation is expected soon.
Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, expressed concern about this reverse migration flow:
“I am worried that the number of people moving from north to south is increasing,” he said this month.
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