Latest news

Hundreds of patients in Panama are waiting for organ donations, with kidney transplants the most in demand, highlighting the country’s shortage of available organs.

Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha asked the UN Security Council for Russia and Ukraine’s help in safely returning Panamanians recruited into their war. The request highlights growing concern over foreign recruitment into the conflict.

The Fórum of Journalists has rejected PRD president Benicio Robinson’s $1.5 million civil suit against La Prensa and journalist Mary Triny Zea, warning it could chill investigative journalism in Panama. The case stems from a report on public transport quota acquisitions in Bocas del Toro.

Deputy Medin Jimenez resigned from the Panamenista Party after its lawmakers helped block an Electoral Tribunal plan to split Chiriqui’s circuit 4-3. His exit leaves the party’s bench at seven deputies.

Panama’s National Police seized more than 2,200 packages of illicit substances in a twelve-hour operation, dismantling stash houses and finding drugs hidden in agricultural cargo at port zones. The seizure marks one of the country’s largest recent blows to narco-trafficking.

A 22-year-old woman died after being attacked with a machete by her partner on Isla Valle Escondido in Bocas del Toro, highlighting the ongoing crisis of intimate partner violence in Panama’s remote island communities.

President José Raúl Mulino has rejected as “absolutely false” reports of a mining project at Cerro Colorado, a copper-rich area in the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, amid lingering sensitivity over mining in Panama after the Cobre Panamá closure.

Panama’s budget hearings have revealed that the State owes millions in unpaid seniority bonuses to former public employees, with entities requesting $182.2 million for 2027 but the MEF recommending only $82.3 million — and no complete tally of the total debt yet existing.

After nearly a decade since the idea was first floated and two years of new studies, the Panama-David railway remains in the planning stage, with the Mulino administration expanding its scope and updating the route.

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier, the First Margaux, collided with the Chinese fishing vessel Luqing Yuanyu 108 near Singapore on Sunday. No victims have been confirmed, and maritime authorities, including the Panama Maritime Authority, are investigating.

President José Raúl Mulino vetoed and returned to the National Assembly a bill creating new discounts for retirees and pensioners, citing grounds of inexequibility. Lawmakers must now revise the measure or let it lapse.

Minister Julio Moltó says Panama needs to reactivate its economy, citing job losses and uncertainty among merchants and residents affected by the shutdown of the Minera Panamá copper mine.

Businessman and former vice presidential candidate Michael Chen says Colon contributes 18% of Panama’s economy while receiving a fraction in return, and predicts the province will become the country’s second capital. His Sabores de Colon festival drew over 50,000 attendees, far surpassing expectations.

A proposed tourism incentives law before Panama’s National Assembly raises investment thresholds and shortens tax breaks, sparking debate over whether small and rural hoteliers can compete with large chains for the benefits.

A leading logistics analyst argues Panama must integrate its Canal, ports, rail, and free zones under a reformed, world-class Panama Maritime Authority to become a true International Maritime and Logistics Center. The call follows La Prensa’s 2026 Maritime, Logistics and Port Forum.

A man was found dead inside a vehicle in La Pitahaya, La Chorrera, after an alleged kidnapping that began in Montelimar. Two suspects are in custody as authorities investigate.

Twenty-four couples formalized their unions in a mass wedding ceremony at the Bahá’í temple in San Miguelito on Saturday. The couples ranged from partners with decades of shared life to those beginning a new chapter together.

President José Raúl Mulino is in New York for the UN General Assembly with a packed agenda of meetings with global giants including Apple, Google, JP Morgan and PepsiCo interested in investing in Panama. He will also attend the naming of “Little Panama Way” in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights.

Panamanian judoka Kristine Jiménez from Veraguas won Panama’s seventh medal at the 2026 South American Games, reaching the podium after overcoming a difficult path in her competition.

Árabe Unido came from behind to beat San Francisco 2-1 and move provisionally top of the LPF Eastern Conference with 18 points, its best start since the 2019 Clausura. Armando Cooper and Dionisio Bernal scored for the Colón club.