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Protesters hold up Panama flags outside of the country's top court in Panama City
Image: Aris Martinez/REUTERSImage: Aris Martinez/REUTERS

Panama

Panama, a country at the southern tip of Central America, is a prominent global shipping hub due to its canal connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea.

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All Content on this topic

A tugboat drags a cargo ship through the Panama Canal

Panama Canal: What you need to know now

The Panama Canal was built by the US in the early 1900s, but Washington gave control of it to Panama decades ago.
PoliticsJanuary 8, 2025
View of the Panama Canal

Panama tells Trump canal sovereignty is 'non-negotiable'

The central American country has again reaffirmed its sovereignty over the key Atlantic-Pacific waterway.
PoliticsJanuary 8, 2025
Panamanian protesters burn poster with Donald Trump on it

Panama: Protesters say 'enemy' Trump must leave canal alone

Donald Trump has said the Panama Canal should be "returned" to US control if shipping fees are not reduced.
PoliticsDecember 25, 2024
Ships navigating the Panama Canal

Trump threatens to retake control of Panama Canal

President-elect Donald Trump has accused Panama of giving other countries too much control over the strategic passage.
BusinessDecember 23, 202402:28 min
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago

Trump demands Panama lower Canal fees or return it to US

In a post on social media, the incoming US president described fees charged to use the Canal as a "complete 'rip-off.'"
PoliticsDecember 22, 2024
General view of Panama's Tocumen International Airport

Venezuela blocks Panama plane carrying senior politicians

A flight carrying ex-presidents of Mexico, Bolivia and Costa Rica to Venezuela to observe elections could not take off.
PoliticsJuly 26, 2024
People, as seen here, continue to make their way through the Darien even it carries risks

US, Panama sign deal to curb migration across the Darien Gap

Thousands of migrants have traversed the Darien jungle by foot and continued to the US border. Panama vows to close it.
PoliticsJuly 2, 2024
A sign of Panama against the skyline of Panama City

Panama court acquits 28 in Panama Papers trial

The defendants were accused of money laundering in cases linked to the Panama Papers and "Operation Car Wash" scandals.
Law and JusticeJune 29, 2024
An old woman paddles a boat along the shore of Gardi Sugdub Island

Climate change forces Panama islanders to relocate

Rising sea levels are forcing the inhabitants of a small Panamanian island to start a new life on the mainland.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 7, 20248 images
Supporters of Panama's presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino celebrate the first results of the presidential election at his campaign headquarters in the Sheraton Hotel in Panama City on May 5, 2024.

Latin American voters ditch socialism for free enterprise

Panama's recent elections confirm an economic policy shift as voters prefer free enterprise to state interventionism.
BusinessMay 22, 2024
Jose Raul Mulino gestures after voting in Panama City, Panama

Panama election: Mulino declared president-elect

Panama's Supreme Court had ruled, just two days before the election, that Jose Raul Mulino was eligible to run.
PoliticsMay 6, 2024
Jurgen Rolf Dieter Mossack, co-founder of former law firm Mossack Fonseca, departs the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice

'Panama Papers' trial starts 8 years after global scandal

The criminal trial for the "Panama Papers" financial scandal has begun, eight years after illegal acts were uncovered.
CorruptionApril 9, 202401:46 min
A police officer stands outside the now defunct Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama City in 2016

Panama Papers trial gets underway with 27 suspects charged

Those among the 27 people on trial include founders of the Mossack-Fonseca law firm.
CrimeApril 8, 2024
DW "Global Us" Sendungslogo Composite

Migration and the dangerous path to safety

We meet migrants on the dangerous route between Colombia and Panama, and two refugees fleeing from Sudan to Niger.
GlobalizationMarch 1, 202426:06 min
A police officer speaks to Jose Luis Lacunza, a Roman Catholic Cardinal.

Panama: Missing cardinal found 'safe and sound'

Jose Luis Lacunza was found by the police near his diocese in western Panama.
February 2, 2024
Kolumbien Migranten aus Haiti am Darien Gap nach Panama

From refugee to refugee influencer

Some migrants become famous en route: with Insta videos taken while they are fleeing.
Digital WorldJanuary 12, 202400:55 min
Kolumbien Migranten aus Haiti am Darien Gap nach Panama

Migrants and the Darién Gap

The Darién Gap is a major transit route for migration, but also one of the most
SocietyJanuary 6, 202412:36 min
DW Business (Sendungslogo Composite)

DW Business

The German government is considering plans to extend a massive lifeline to Siemens Energy
BusinessOctober 30, 202312:34 min
Migrants start the walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the US

Panama: Record number of migrants cross deadly Darien's Gap

An estimated 4,000 migrants are crossing the perilous Darien Gap each day.
MigrationSeptember 29, 2023
Panama's former President Ricardo Martinelli arrives to cast his vote during the internal election of his Realizando Metas party to elect a presidential candidate for the next general election in Panama City, Sunday, June 4, 2023.

Former Panama president convicted of money laundering

Ricardo Martinelli was sentenced to to more than 10 years in prison and ordered to pay a $19.2 million fine.
CorruptionJuly 19, 2023
Former Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez

US bans entry of Panama ex-President Varela over corruption

Former Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez has been charged with money-laundering.
PoliticsJuly 14, 2023
Firefighter trying to extinguish a blaze during wildfires in Greece

COP28: Little optimism as climate talks start in Bonn

Negotiators are meeting for the first time since an agreement to pay for some of the damage caused by extreme weather.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 5, 2023
A massive container ship entering the Panama Canal

Climate change could cut off the Panama Canal

The water level in the Panama Canal is falling due to less rain. It may put global supply chains at risk.
BusinessMay 29, 2023
Ricardo Martinelli Linares, right, and his brother Luis Enrique stand inside a holding cell

Ex-Panama president's sons return after serving US sentence

The US announced it will bar former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and his two sons from entering the country.
PoliticsJanuary 26, 2023
Stills DW Beitrag EU Kommissar Lenarcic in Lateinamerika unterwegs

What does the EU do to help tackle poverty in Latin America?

Janez Lenarčič, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, brings aid to Latin America.
PoliticsOctober 29, 202212:36 min
The EU is looking beyond its own crises to address a human tragedy unfolding in Latin America.

Migrants risk death on Darien Gap trek north

The EU is looking beyond its own crises to address a human tragedy unfolding in Latin America.
MigrationOctober 19, 202203:50 min
Migrants crossing into Panam through Darien Gap

Panama reports record number of migrant crossings

Over 150,000 people have crossed the hazardous Darien jungle region this year.
Human RightsOctober 11, 2022
A truck on the Panamerican highway near Tanaca, Peru

Panama Gap in the Panamericana

The Panamericana is one of the longest roads in the world - it runs some 48,000 km through the North and South American continents, all the way from Alaska to the southernmost tip of Argentina. But there's a long gap in Panama before the road continues in Colombia. Local people are not happy about their lack of access to economic opportunities that come with being connected.
GlobalizationNovember 3, 202129:59 min
Cars line up to cross into the US at the US/Canada border

US to reopen land borders with Canada and Mexico

The United States plans to reopen its land border with Canada for fully vaccinated travelers. Follow DW for the latest.
HealthOctober 13, 2021
Travelers waiting in line at JFK Airport in New York, USA

Coronavirus digest: US lowers travel advisory for Germany

Washington nevertheless urges travelers to "exercise increased caution" abroad. Follow DW for all the latest.
HealthJuly 13, 2021
A patient is moved from an ambulance into a COVID-19 treatment center in Mexico City

Coronavirus digest: Mexico reports 120,000 'untested' deaths

The country's true death toll stands above 321,000, almost 60% more than originally thought.
HealthMarch 28, 2021
Panama: students taking part in Ocean College collect rubbish on a beach

Ocean College: Plastic in Panama

Our Ocean College blogger Lisa reports from Panama, where amid the beautiful scenery is a much less welcome sight.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 8, 2018