When Daniel Waters met Jodie Horton five years ago, one of the first things he told her was that he dreamed of buying property on a beach.
“Being able to wake up, look out the window, and see the sun melting into blue water feels like the ultimate décor,” said Mr. Waters, 49.
Dr. Horton, 52, is a gynecologist based in New Orleans. Mr. Waters is in the military. As they thought about where they might want to retire one day, they looked at beach towns in the United States, but couldn’t agree on a state they wanted to live in. Most of the homes they saw were too expensive anyway.
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The couple, who have three adult-aged children from previous relationships, were well traveled, having been to Colombia, Chile and Peru together.
“When I first met him, he was learning Spanish and he’s pretty immersed in Spanish culture,” Dr. Horton said. “He knows how to salsa and bachata, and so he was like, ‘OK, we should look in a Spanish-speaking country.’ But we weren’t really sure which one.”
Mexico and Costa Rica offered direct flights, but homes there were either too expensive or too far inland. “We always look at the cost of living,” Dr. Horton said. “And how easy is it to get back to America? We both have kids that are out of the house. I’ve always been a single mom. Like, my daughter — I want to make sure she’s OK.”
Finally, they zeroed in on Panama, which they knew was popular with American expatriates and conveniently uses the U.S. dollar. Best of all was the country’s Qualified Investor Program: Any real estate purchase over $300,000 allows a buyer to obtain permanent residency status.
“Panama had us at warm weather, beaches and affordable cost of living,” Mr. Waters said. “Add in vibrant culture, fewer natural disasters, and the chance to finally use the Spanish I sweated through in language school, and it felt like a smart life decision disguised as a tropical daydream.”
With up to about $650,000 to spend, the couple aimed for a two-bedroom or three-bedroom condo in a new waterfront development with hotel amenities, preferably in or around Panama City. After perusing some options, they realized they could get a good deal on a condo that hadn’t even been built yet. They started with online research — flights, locations, retirement possibilities — and made decisions based on brochures with digital renderings.
“We looked at properties that were either just built or were going to be finished in 2026 to 2029,” Dr. Horton said. “I also thought living in a hotel residence is luxury. Like when you stay in a hotel and say, ‘I could live here.’ Foreigners buy property unseen all the time. It’s not unusual, and if we don’t like it we can use it as an investment.”
(digital rendering).
This planned development was in Costa del Este, a vibrant coastal neighborhood in Panama City. A three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom unit with nearly 1,700 square feet came fully furnished with 10-foot ceilings, an open layout with a kitchen island, bedrooms on opposite ends, and a roughly 215-square-foot terrace. The 60-story development, which had ocean views but was not on the water, promised 75,000 square feet of common spaces and amenities, including restaurants, a sports club, green spaces and a cinema. Tocumen International Airport was less than an hour away. Prices started at $457,000, with an HOA fee of about $515 a month. Foreigners had to make a 30 percent down payment, with payment increments each year until the scheduled 2029 completion.
(digital rendering).
(digital rendering)Empresas Bern/The Bouzy Group
A three-bedroom, three-bath, roughly 1,375-square-foot unit in this waterfront Westin development offered views of Panama City, which was about 20 miles north, and the ocean. The renderings showed a sleek unit with an open layout, tile floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. Buyers would have the option to close off the third bedroom and add a kitchenette, allowing it to be rented out separately. They’d also have access to a rooftop restaurant, a cinema, two pools, a beach club, and Marriott membership. Construction was scheduled for completion in 2029. The quoted price was $668,000, with a monthly HOA fee of $525. Buyers pay 15 percent up front, 25 percent over the next two years, and 60 percent upon completion.
(digital rendering)Empresas Bern/The Bouzy Group
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Central and South America are having something of a moment in the travel world. From the elegant sophistication of Buenos Aires in Argentina to the fascinating Indigenous communities hidden away in the mountains of Bolivia and Peru, there are stunning and unusual places to discover from the top to the bottom of Latin America.
There are plenty of spots in Central and South America that are already world-renowned vacation destinations, but there are also some truly stunning places that are getting more attention this year. Not only are these spots incredibly beautiful, but they also offer a rich, cultural experience that is truly hard to beat. With an extraordinary cultural diversity on show, Latin America provides a unique and fascinating array of traditions, history, art, and culture that makes it one of the world’s best regions to explore.
We looked at some of the most authoritative travel guides in the world and cross-referenced several Best Travel Destinations for 2026 lists. From these sources, we’ve chosen five of the most exciting countries in South and Central America: Panama, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil. These destinations should definitely be on your radar to visit in 2026 for a rich cultural experience.
Panama City old building at night – angela Meier/Shutterstock
Panama is sometimes seen as just the country of the Panama Canal and retired expats, but there are a whole lot of other reasons why Panama should be your next travel destination. This small, beautiful, friendly country boasts a fabulous climate, some amazing beaches and rainforests, and stunning colonial relics, and it is a wonderfully affordable place to visit as well.
One of the emerging places in Panama that is set to be a standout destination for 2026 is the Chiriqui Province, on the Pacific Coast, about 300 miles southwest of the capital, Panama City. It is a fantastically diverse region, offering a combination of stunning natural beauty, fascinating history, and castaway-style vibes. It is one of Panama’s biggest coffee-producing regions, and the Feria de las Flores y Del Café in the picture-perfect town of Boquete is a wonderful way to experience the culture surrounding this industry. Even if you miss the festival, a coffee-tasting at one of the many plantations surrounding the town is a great experience.
Chiriqui’s natural environment is one of its biggest draws. La Amistad International Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site covering nearly 1 million acres and Central America’s largest nature reserve. The Gulf of Chiriqui National Marine Park is also worth visiting, particularly from July to October during the humpback whale migration. The region is also famous for its farm-to-table cuisine, with spots like Finca Lerida in Boquete serving up fabulous Panamanian flavors using local organic produce.
Colombia
A wide view of the city of Medellin, Columbia in the valley of the mountains during a colorful sunset – Matt Lavigne/Getty Images
For many years, Colombia has had a reputation as one of the most dangerous South American destinations to visit, but the last few years have seen it shake off this image, and there are some excellent destinations set to be huge in 2026. The vibrant city of Medellin is emblematic of Colombia’s evolution, having gone from the narco capital of the country to one of the most exciting food cities in South America in just two decades. Famed for its buzzy nightlife and ingenious urban sprawl, the cluster of hillside communities that make up this vibey city is filled with incredible places to eat and drink, and the arrival of the $100-million Wake development is set to turbo-charge this foodie atmosphere.
Colombia’s rich cultural offerings continue in the fortified seaside city of Cartagena de Indias. With its wonderfully preserved stone walls, charming historic city center, gorgeous Spanish colonial architecture, and magnificent museums, it is a treasure trove of historical and cultural experiences. Don’t miss the Museo de Oro Zenú and the Museo Histórico de Cartagena for a chance to explore Colombia’s varied and at times dark past.
Brazil is hardly a hidden gem in South America. From the endless white-sand beaches and vibrant nightlife of Rio de Janeiro to the lush Amazonian rainforests, Brazil has been a bucket list destination for many travelers for years. But there are still plenty of undiscovered gems in this vast country ready to be discovered.
One spot that is being heralded as a breakout star for 2026 is Minas Gerais. One of the largest states in Brazil, it has been overlooked by international tourists for years but is an astonishingly rich and diverse region with a wonderful gastronomic culture, beautiful colonial architecture, and vibrant boteco nightlife. Its capital, Belo Horizonte, is sophisticated and lively in equal measures, with an astonishingly hip and forward-thinking dining scene boasting a series of young, talented chefs like Caio Soter and Bruna Rezende. It is one of the best places in Brazil for contemporary art, with spots like Mercado Novo, Albuquerque Contemporânea, and the recently-opened Galeria Ficus in the city itself, and Inhotim, Latin America’s largest open-air art museum, just over 30 miles out of town.
Another fantastic yet underappreciated gem in Brazil is the lush, stunning wetlands of the Pantanal. The world’s largest tropical wetland, this enormous region has a truly staggering variety and amount of wildlife, from jaguars, capybaras, and giant otters to caimans, tapirs, and the legendary hyacinth macaws. A seasonal floodplain of epic proportions, it is exceptionally remote and quite a challenge to visit, but this makes it all the more worthwhile.
Chile
Guanaco with a mountain in the background in Chilean Patagonia – Espiegle/Getty Images
Chile is an extraordinary country. A long sliver of land sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and Argentina, it runs around half the length of South America, bordering Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. Often overlooked in favor of its more famous neighbors, it offers an astounding variety of landscapes, ecosystems, and cultures, from incredible wines and gaucho culture to the wide-open skies of the Atacama Desert and the soaring peaks of the Andes.
Right at the southern tip of the continent, Patagonia is a famous destination for adventure travelers, with Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park a favorite. But recently, the lesser-known delights of the north of the region have begun to gain popularity, thanks to its unspoiled natural beauty, incredible wildlife, and magnificent hot springs.
Another relatively underexplored spot in Chile that is primed for a huge 2026 is the Colchagua Valley, Chilean wine country. Chilean wine is often slept on, overlooked in favor of its noisier Argentinian cousin, but the Colchagua Valley boasts some of the world’s most impressive wineries, as well as being the center of Chilean cowboy culture. With 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of Chile’s Wine Route, it is looking like it will be a big year for this area in particular.
Bolivia
Cityscape of Potosi with the red mountain Cerro Rico in the background – Rchphoto/Getty Images
Bolivia is one of South America’s true hidden gems. Known by international tourists and photography fans primarily for the bizarre and beautiful shimmering bone-white landscape of Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, the rest of the country is far less explored. But there’s a tremendous amount to discover, and 2026 might be the year it gets the recognition it deserves.
Potosí is the region that surrounds the otherworldly expanse of Salar de Uyuni and has plenty of other attractions to recommend it to adventurous tourists. The capital city, Potosí, has an extraordinary history intertwined with the silver mines of the Cerro Rico, and popular legend has it that at least one street in the city was literally paved with silver! A UNESCO World Heritage site, the city boasts some truly gorgeous Mestizo-Baroque houses, churches, and theaters, as well as the Casa Real de la Moneda, the former mint now converted into a museum.
The rest of the region is splendidly weird, from the looming summit of Cerro Rico (known as the mountain that eats men due to the vast number of people who died working in its mines) to the crimson waters of the Laguna Colorada. One of the main attractions is the bubbling thermal springs that pop up from the volcanic energy below the surface of the Earth, like the Termas de Polques and the mythical Ojo del Inca, usually known as Laguna Tarapaya.
Methodology
Lake Pehoe in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile – Aoldman/Getty Images
To curate this list, we looked at lists of travel destinations for 2026 from authoritative sources, searching for compelling arguments in favor of particular countries or destinations. We prioritized popular countries with regions or cities that have, up to now, been underexplored or overlooked, as well as places that have a particular anniversary or occasion that would suggest increased tourist interest in 2026. Other considerations were areas that offered specific experiences that were similar to those elsewhere in the country but with fewer visitors.
President Trump isn’t denying the possibility of further American expansion, intervention or annexation efforts in the Western Hemisphere after the military’s success in plucking former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas over the weekend to face drug trafficking charges in the U.S.
In the past, he’s threatened to annex Greenland and Canada and predicted the governments in Cuba and Colombia would fall. Now, Mr. Trump is making similar comments again and raising new questions about what he plans to do next.
Mr. Trump said Saturday that under his administration, “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again” — dubbing his approach the “Don-roe Doctrine,” a spin on the 19th century foreign policy concept.
It’s not clear whether the president will act on his threats against other countries.
Here’s the latest on countries and territories that have been the subject of interventionist comments by the president:
Greenland
Mr. Trump has long coveted Greenland and has said it’s necessary for U.S. national security, a point he made again Sunday.
“We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said. “We need Greenland, from the standpoint of national security.”
“Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you,” Mr. Trump continued. “To boost up security in Greenland, they added one more dogsled.”
Administration officials are discussing a “range of options” to acquire Greenland, including using military force, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
The president also named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to serve as special envoy to Greenland last month to represent U.S. interests on the island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Landry said in a social media post addressed to Mr. Trump, “It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S.”
In March, Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland and told a reporter while he was there that “what we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose through self-determination to become independent of Denmark, and then we’re going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there.”
Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly stated that the huge Arctic island isn’t for sale and that it will decide its future itself.
A post on Saturday by Katie Miller, the wife of top White House aide Stephen Miller, showed Greenland covered in an American flag accompanied by the comment “Soon,” which prompted some to wonder if its annexation is on the horizon.
Asked by CNN on Monday if he could rule out that the U.S. is going to try to take Greenland by force, Stephen Miller said, “There’s no need to even think or talk about this in the context that you’re asking — of a military operation. Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One over the weekend that while nothing is imminent, “we’ll worry about Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen chided Mr. Trump in a social media post, calling suggestions of annexation “fantasies” and writing: “That’s enough now.”
On Tuesday, the leaders of Europe issued a statement saying “security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.”
Iran
Escalating protests over the desperate economic conditions in Iran have been taking place for over a week, and there have been reports that dozens of people have been killed. In response, hours before the Venezuela operation began, Mr. Trump posted on social media that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.” He said the U.S. is “locked and loaded.”
The president said Sunday of the demonstrations in Iran, “We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States.”
In June, the U.S. carried out airstrikes against Iran’s major nuclear facilities, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, in an effort to destroy its nuclear enrichment capacity.
Cuba
On the way back to Washington Sunday, Mr. Trump told reporters, “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall,” adding that he didn’t know “if they’re going to hold out.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks Saturday indicated Cuba’s leaders should be worried: “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit.” A day later, on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” he said of Cuba, “they’re in a lot of trouble.”
Though he didn’t detail any plans for Cuba or its leaders, Rubio said, “I don’t think it’s any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro.”
Rubio highlighted the close ties between Venezuela and Cuba, noting that Maduro had relied on Cuban bodyguards for protection and said they were in charge of the Venezuelan government’s “internal intelligence.” The Cuban government said 32 Cubans were killed during the military operation to capture Maduro.
For now, Mr. Trump seems content to see how things play out on the island.
“I don’t think we need any action” in Cuba, he said, pointing out that Cuba “now has no income — they got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil. They’re not getting any of it. And Cuba literally is ready to fall.”
In the past year, Cuba’s oil imports from Venezuela fell by 15%, to 27,400 barrels per day, according to Reuters, which also said that Cuba’s supply from Mexico over the same period, from January to October, had dropped by 73%, to just 5,000 bpd.
Colombia
The president appears to have less patience for Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom he has accused of illegal drug production and trafficking.
“Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters Saturday. Asked whether he was threatening to undertake a military operation in Colombia, the president replied, “It sounds good to me. You know what … they kill a lot of people.”
The Trump administration has claimed that cocaine production has spiked during Petro’s presidency, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on Petro in October because he “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”
Petro has accused the U.S. of violating international law with its attacks on alleged drug boats, which have now killed at least 115 people, and he suggested that some innocent civilians may have been killed in the strikes. The U.S. denies that any innocent civilians have been killed in any of the boat strikes.
Petro — who once belonged to a guerilla group — warned Mr. Trump against taking action in his country, writing on X that he “swore never to touch a weapon again,” but “for the homeland I would take up arms that I don’t want.”
Canada
While Mr. Trump has in the past talked about making Canada the “51st state,” he has not brought it up again since the Venezuela operation.
But Mr. Trump has imposed punishing tariffs against Canada, raising the tariffs to 35% in August, though a large share of goods are exempt because they’re covered by the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.
In October, Mr. Trump threatened to end trade negotiations with Canada after an anti-tariff ad using Ronald Reagan’s voice ran in Ontario. Ontario Premier Doug Ford pulled the ad, saying “our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.”
Panama Canal
Mr. Trump argued earlier in his term that the U.S. should regain control over the strategic Panama Canal — drawing flak from Panama’s government. The U.S. oversaw the canal’s construction in the early 20th century and controlled it for decades, but began handing the canal and surrounding land back over to Panama in 1979.
He claimed in March that he was “reclaiming the Panama Canal,” referring to a deal by a U.S.-led consortium to buy a controlling stake in the company that operates ports near the canal. Panama’s president accused Mr. Trump of “lying again.”
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
In 1823, America’s fifth president, James Monroe, outlined before Congress the U.S.’ policy toward its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere. It was initially intended to ward off European colonialism, but the Monroe administration also wanted to increase the U.S.’ influence and trading alliances.
During the Cold War, the U.S. cited the Monroe Doctrine to be used as a defense against the expansion of communism in Latin America.
The phrase “Don-roe Doctrine” first appeared on the cover of the New York Post last year.
The Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s president and claims that it will “run” the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. actions and its future operations in the South American nation.Related video above: U.S. strikes Venezuela, captures President Maduro in overnight operationThe middle-of-the-night seizure of Nicolás Maduro, who was transported with his wife on a U.S. warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York, is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and elsewhere, legal experts said. It came after a surprise U.S. incursion that rocked the Venezuelan capital with overnight explosions.”This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act,” said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney.The stunning development caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region, including the bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September, and positioned an armada of warships in nearby waters.The bigger debate than legality is yet to come, said John Yoo, an early architect of the George W. Bush administration’s policy in Iraq and now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.”It’s easier to remove a dictator,” he said, based on his experience in the Iraq War. But ensuring the transition to a stable democratic government is “the harder part.”Maduro’s arrest on anniversary of Noriega’s surrenderMaduro’s arrest came 36 years to the date of the surrender of Panama’s strongman, Manuel Noriega, a notable milestone in American involvement in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges.In Panama, however, U.S. national security interests were directly at stake in the form of the Panama Canal as well as the safety of American citizens and U.S. military installations in the country.Video below: Former Alabama exchange student reacts to Maduro captureBy contrast, Congress has not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela.”The President will claim that this fits within a vast body of precedent supporting broad executive power to defend the United States, its citizens, and its interests,” Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the Bush administration, said by email. “Critics will charge that this exceeds the bounds of presidential power without congressional authorization.”While U.S. agents have a long history of snatching defendants abroad to execute arrest warrants without authorization, federal courts have long deferred to the White House in foreign policy and national security matters.For example, U.S. bounty hunters, working under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in 1990 abducted in Mexico a doctor accused of killing DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.”Courts give great deference to the president on issues related to national security,” said Gurule, who led the prosecution against Camarena’s killers. “But great deference does not mean absolute deference and unfettered authority to do anything.”Congress has yet to authorize or ban US actionsTrump’s administration has declared the drug cartels operating from Venezuela to be unlawful combatants and has said the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them, according to an administration memo obtained in October by The Associated Press.The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force. That is a new rationale for past and future actions.Congress, which has broad authority to approve or prohibit the president’s war powers, has failed to do either, even as lawmakers from both political parties grow increasingly uneasy with the military actions in the region, particularly after it was revealed that U.S. forces killed two survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike.Congress’ Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, demanded immediate briefings for the “gang of eight” leaders on Capitol Hill, which includes top members of the Intelligence committees, as well as for other lawmakers. Congressional leaders were not notified of the actions until after the operation was underway.”The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans,” Schumer said. “The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.”Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College, said the entire operation — the boat strikes as well as the apprehension of Maduro — clearly violates international law.”Lawyers call it international armed conflict,” Schmitt said. “Lay people call it war. So as a matter of law, we are now at war with Venezuela because the use of hostilities between two states clearly triggers an internal armed conflict.”War powers vote aheadHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the administration “is working to schedule briefings” for lawmakers next week.Republican lawmakers in Congress largely welcomed the capture of Maduro as ridding the region of a leader they say is responsible for drug trafficking, but Democratic lawmakers warned that in veering from the rule of law, the administration is potentially greenlighting other countries such as China or Russia to do the same.”Beyond the legality, what kind of precedent does it send?” asked Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said in an interview that the rebuilding plan ahead has echoes of the Iraq War as the Trump administration promises to use Venezuela’s oil revenue to pay the costs.Waxman, the Columbia University law professor, said seizing control of Venezuela’s resources opens up additional legal issues: “For example, a big issue will be who really owns Venezuela’s oil?”The Senate is expected to try again next week to curtail Trump’s actions, with a vote expected on a bipartisan war powers resolution that would block using U.S. forces against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is grateful for the armed forces “who carried out this necessary action.” He said he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and wants more information.”I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week,” Thune said.Rubio said at a briefing Saturday with Trump that because of the nature of the surprise operation, it was not something that could be shared beforehand with the lawmakers.Goodman reported from Miami.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
The Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s president and claims that it will “run” the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. actions and its future operations in the South American nation.
Related video above: U.S. strikes Venezuela, captures President Maduro in overnight operation
The middle-of-the-night seizure of Nicolás Maduro, who was transported with his wife on a U.S. warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York, is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and elsewhere, legal experts said. It came after a surprise U.S. incursion that rocked the Venezuelan capital with overnight explosions.
“This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act,” said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney.
The stunning development caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region, including the bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September, and positioned an armada of warships in nearby waters.
The bigger debate than legality is yet to come, said John Yoo, an early architect of the George W. Bush administration’s policy in Iraq and now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
“It’s easier to remove a dictator,” he said, based on his experience in the Iraq War. But ensuring the transition to a stable democratic government is “the harder part.”
Maduro’s arrest on anniversary of Noriega’s surrender
Maduro’s arrest came 36 years to the date of the surrender of Panama’s strongman, Manuel Noriega, a notable milestone in American involvement in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges.
In Panama, however, U.S. national security interests were directly at stake in the form of the Panama Canal as well as the safety of American citizens and U.S. military installations in the country.
Video below: Former Alabama exchange student reacts to Maduro capture
By contrast, Congress has not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela.
“The President will claim that this fits within a vast body of precedent supporting broad executive power to defend the United States, its citizens, and its interests,” Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the Bush administration, said by email. “Critics will charge that this exceeds the bounds of presidential power without congressional authorization.”
While U.S. agents have a long history of snatching defendants abroad to execute arrest warrants without authorization, federal courts have long deferred to the White House in foreign policy and national security matters.
For example, U.S. bounty hunters, working under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in 1990 abducted in Mexico a doctor accused of killing DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
“Courts give great deference to the president on issues related to national security,” said Gurule, who led the prosecution against Camarena’s killers. “But great deference does not mean absolute deference and unfettered authority to do anything.”
Congress has yet to authorize or ban US actions
Trump’s administration has declared the drug cartels operating from Venezuela to be unlawful combatants and has said the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them, according to an administration memo obtained in October by The Associated Press.
The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force. That is a new rationale for past and future actions.
Congress, which has broad authority to approve or prohibit the president’s war powers, has failed to do either, even as lawmakers from both political parties grow increasingly uneasy with the military actions in the region, particularly after it was revealed that U.S. forces killed two survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike.
Congress’ Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, demanded immediate briefings for the “gang of eight” leaders on Capitol Hill, which includes top members of the Intelligence committees, as well as for other lawmakers. Congressional leaders were not notified of the actions until after the operation was underway.
“The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans,” Schumer said. “The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.”
Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College, said the entire operation — the boat strikes as well as the apprehension of Maduro — clearly violates international law.
“Lawyers call it international armed conflict,” Schmitt said. “Lay people call it war. So as a matter of law, we are now at war with Venezuela because the use of hostilities between two states clearly triggers an internal armed conflict.”
War powers vote ahead
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the administration “is working to schedule briefings” for lawmakers next week.
Republican lawmakers in Congress largely welcomed the capture of Maduro as ridding the region of a leader they say is responsible for drug trafficking, but Democratic lawmakers warned that in veering from the rule of law, the administration is potentially greenlighting other countries such as China or Russia to do the same.
“Beyond the legality, what kind of precedent does it send?” asked Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said in an interview that the rebuilding plan ahead has echoes of the Iraq War as the Trump administration promises to use Venezuela’s oil revenue to pay the costs.
Waxman, the Columbia University law professor, said seizing control of Venezuela’s resources opens up additional legal issues: “For example, a big issue will be who really owns Venezuela’s oil?”
The Senate is expected to try again next week to curtail Trump’s actions, with a vote expected on a bipartisan war powers resolution that would block using U.S. forces against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is grateful for the armed forces “who carried out this necessary action.” He said he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and wants more information.
“I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week,” Thune said.
Rubio said at a briefing Saturday with Trump that because of the nature of the surprise operation, it was not something that could be shared beforehand with the lawmakers.
President Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife early Saturday morning, 35 years to the day after U.S. forces arrested another indicted Latin American leader.
A one-time U.S. ally and CIA informant, Manuel Noriega led Panama for much of the 1980s.
He was raised in the slums of Panama City and rose to prominence under Gen. Omar Torrijos, who seized power in a 1968 coup. After Torrijos was killed in a 1983 plane crash, Noriega took control of the Panamanian government. He was propped up by U.S. officials, who paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight drug trafficking.
Noriega spent years on the CIA’s payroll, assisting U.S. interests throughout Latin America and acting as a liaison to Cuba’s Fidel Castro. Former U.S. officials testified that Noriega’s assistance was crucial to advancing foreign policy interests in South America during that time.
Manuel Noriega gestures while giving speech in Panama City in March 1988 file photo.
Gary Hershorn / Reuters
Noriega fell out of favor with Washington due to his demands for independence and allegations that he was accepting bribes to allow drugs into the U.S. in the late 1980s. Former President George H.W. Bush ordered the U.S. military to invade Panama in late 1989, sending 24,000 troops to topple Noriega’s government. The operation left 23 American soldiers dead and hundreds more injured.
Noriega hid out in the Vatican embassy before surrendering to U.S. authorities on January 3, 1990. He was taken to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges. His fall led to the end of Panama’s military dictatorship.
Noriega was convicted on drug trafficking charges and spent 20 years in an American prison. He was extradited to France in 2010 to serve a seven-year money laundering sentence. In 2011, he was sent to Panama to complete a 60-year sentence for murder, corruption and embezzlement during the military’s three-decade rule.
In 2015, Noriega gave his first interview in nearly 20 years from his Panamanian prison. He called himself “the last general of the military era” and apologized to those “offended, affected, injured or humiliated” by his own actions or those of his superiors and subordinates during the military regime.
Noriega died after complications from a surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in 2017. He was 83. Juan Carlos Varela, Panama’s president at the time, said that his death “closes a chapter in our history.”
Manuel Noriega poses for photo in picture received by Reuters in Panama City on December 14, 2011.
Handout / Reuters
House Intelligence Chair Rep. Rick Crawford commented on the connection between Noriega’s capture and the operation in Venezuela in a statement shared on social media.
“This is a historic day in the Western Hemisphere, 36 years after the capture of Manuel Noriega, when the U.S showed we will not allow cartels to take over countries in our shared neighborhood. The arrest of Cartel De Los Soles leader Nicolas Maduro shows this clearly,” said Crawford, a Republican from Arkansas. “Venezuela could never start the road back to the great nation it once was until Maduro was out of the way. I call upon the Venezuelan people to reclaim their freedom.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China on Wednesday accused the United States of violating the United Nations Charter after Washington announced a visa policy that targeted people from Central American countries who work with Beijing.
The policy, according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will restrict U.S. visas for Central American nationals, and their immediate family members, who “are intentionally acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and threatening our region’s stability.”
“Turning visas into political leverage runs against the #UN Charter and the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference. Central America is no one’s ‘backyard,’” the Chinese Embassy in Washington wrote on X.
It said that China’s cooperation with regional countries has contributed to local economies and livelihoods.
The embassy said international relations should be “built on respect and partnership, not pressure.”
The State Department did not immediately respond when reached for comment.
The department, which routinely notifies of visa restrictions in press releases, has not indicated how many new restrictions have been imposed as a result of the policy, which was announced in September.
The president of Panama – one of the countries mentioned in the Chinese embassy’s statement – said last month that someone at the U.S. Embassy in Panama had threatened to cancel the visas of Panamanian officials.
The U.S. has expressed its concerns about China’s increasing foothold in Latin America, a region historically under the U.S. sphere of influence.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Don Durfee and Chizu Nomiyama)
Panamanian authorities on Tuesday announced a large seizure of U.S.-bound cocaine on a ferry in the Pacific, at a time Washington is upping an anti-drug military deployment in Latin America.
Prosecutor Julio Villareal told reporters approximately 13.2 tons of drugs, “in this case cocaine,” were seized in an operation Monday, and 10 people arrested.
It was one the biggest such hauls in Panamanian waters to date, he said.
In a social media post, the prosecutor’s office released several images of the alleged drugs, saying that a total of 11,562 packages were seized.
Panamanian authorities on Tuesday announced a large seizure of U.S.-bound cocaine on a ferry in the Pacific, at a time Washington is upping an anti-drug military deployment in Latin America.
Panama Prosecutor’s Office
Panama is a transit point for cocaine from South America, mainly Colombia, destined for the United States — the world’s largest consumer
Villareal said Venezuelans, Ecuadorans and Nicaraguans were among those detained on the ferry, which had set out from Colombia.
Panama in 2023 seized a total of 119 metric tons of drugs.
Latin American countries have been keen to show off anti-narcotics efforts as U.S. strikes on alleged drug-ferrying boats have claimed at least 76 lives so far in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Washington said its military deployment in the region is part of an anti-drug campaign, but Venezuela in particular fears it is all a ploy to get rid of its president, Nicolas Maduro.
When asked in an interview with “60 Minutes” recently if Maduro’s “days were numbered,” Mr. Trump responded, “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”
Recent drug seizures on the high seas
Large amounts of drugs have also been confiscated from boats in other parts of the world in recent months.
In October, police in Spain said that they seized 6.5 tons of cocaine and arrested nine people after a U.S. tip-off led them to raid a ship off the Canary Islands.
That same month, U.S. Central Command confirmed that a Pakistani navy ship seized narcotics worth more than $972 million from sailboats in the Arabian Sea.
In September, the French navy seized nearly 10 tons of cocaine worth more than $600 million from a fishing vessel off the coast of West Africa.
In April, the U.S. Coast Guard seized roughly 10,000 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier this month, the Coast Guard said it had seized more than half a million pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean during this fiscal year, the largest amount in its history.
PANAMA CITY, April 24, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– Every year, about 5% of global trade passes through the Panama Canal, contributing 7.7% to Panama’s GDP in 2022, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Beyond its economic impact, this vital waterway also plays a key role in reducing global CO2 emissions.
In the latest episode of A Spotlight to Panama, a YouTube series highlighting Panama’s unique contributions, the Panamanian communicator Ana Patricia Hassan sits down with Dazzell Marshall, a historian at the Miraflores Visitor Center, to discuss the Canal’s expansion, its evolution since Panama assumed control, and how this engineering marvel is driving sustainable global trade.
“One of the primary challenges was demonstrating that Panamanians were capable of managing such a massive enterprise,” explains Marshall to Ana Patricia, reflecting on the handover of the Canal from the United States to Panama. He also highlights how the Canal has become a commercial powerhouse, injecting $2.4 billion into Panama’s economy last year alone.
A key milestone in Panama’s stewardship was the 2016 inauguration of the new locks, which enabled the passage of larger vessels, increasing capacity from 5,000 to 17,000 containers per ship. These expansions now generate over 55% of the Canal’s revenue, emphasizing the importance of cargo volume.
Another major focus of the episode is the Canal’s sustainability efforts. Since the expansion, the Canal has surpassed transit expectations while leading in environmental innovation. The new lock system, which lifts ships using 60% less water, has been pivotal in conserving resources.
Additionally, since its opening in 1914, the Canal has helped reduce global CO2 emissions by shortening voyage distances, allowing ships to save time and fuel.
For those interested in exploring the transformative impact of the Panama Canal, you can watch the episode on A Spotlight to Panama or visit here.
The U.S. and Panama signed an agreement on Monday that will allow American officials to help the Panamanian government deport migrants who cross the Darién Gap, a once-impenetrable jungle that has become a popular transit point for those traveling to the U.S. southern border.
Under the joint initiative, U.S. immigration officials will train and provide assistance to Panamanian authorities to help them carry out more deportations of migrants heading north. In recent years, Panama has reported record numbers of crossings along the roadless Darién jungle, including over half a million in 2023 alone.
The Department of Homeland Security will be dispatching officials who have experience screening asylum claims and deporting migrants to Panama so they can assist their Panamanian counterparts on the ground. Using State Department funds, the U.S. will also help Panama build up its deportation infrastructure.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who attended the inauguration of Panama’s President-elect José Raúl Mulino on Monday, said the agreement is part of “a regional response” to migration.
“As the United States continues to secure our borders and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain, we are grateful for our partnership with Panama to manage the historic levels of migration across the Western Hemisphere,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
Aerial view of the Reception Center for Migrant Care in Lajas Blancas, in the jungle province of Darien, Panama on June 27, 2024.
MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images
Mulino has vowed to take a tough stance against migrant arrivals in Panama, pledging to “close” the Darién Gap and accusing international aid workers of facilitating illegal migration.
The arrangement between the two countries had been months in the making. CBS News first reported on the Biden administration’s plans to send U.S. immigration officials to Panama in November.
The move is the latest action taken by the Biden administration to stem illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border. Last month, following President Biden’s move to partially shut down asylum processing using his executive authority, unlawful border crossings fell to the lowest level recorded during his administration.
The agreement also underscores how much the U.S. — under Democratic and Republican administrations — has come to rely on other countries to reduce migrant crossings along its southern border.
Over the past few months, Mexican officials have conducted an aggressive operation to stop migrants from reaching northern Mexico. Ecuador also recently imposed visa requirements for Chinese migrants, who were using the South American country as a lily pad to get to the U.S. border.
Researchers have uncovered an ancient lord’s tomb filled with gold treasure —and sacrificial victims— at an archaeological park in Panama, officials revealed on Friday. The tomb, estimated to be about 1,200 years old, marks the area where an elite chief was buried along with possibly dozens of people who died to accompany him to the “beyond,” the nation’s culture ministry said in a news release.
Inside the grave at El Caño Archaeological Park, scientists discovered an array of gold treasures, including bracelets, two belts made with gold beads, crocodile-shaped earrings, gold-covered sperm whale teeth earrings and circular gold plates. Archaeologists also unearthed earrings in the shape of a man and a woman, two bells, skirts made with dog teeth, and a set of bone flutes.
The grave likely belonged to a high-status chief from the local Coclé culture who was in his 30s, the El Caño Foundation said in a Facebook post. The foundation also posted video of the treasures.
Dr. Julia Mayo, director of the foundation and leader of the archaeological project, said that in addition to the lord, the tomb also contains up to 31 other people who were “sacrificed to serve as companions.”
Mayo said the excavation of the burial site was not yet complete so it could not be determined how many people were in the tomb. She said the lord had been buried face down, which was typical of this type of burial, on top of the body of a woman.
Inside the grave at El Caño Archaeological Park, scientists discovered an array of gold treasures,
Panama Culture Minsitry
Linette Montenegro, national director of heritage at the Ministry of Culture, said that excavation at the archaeological park began in 2022. Montenegro said that the gold and artifacts found in the tomb “have not only economic value, but also incalculable historical and cultural value.”
El Caño Archaeological Park was a necropolis that was built around 700 AD and abandoned around 1000 AD, the ministry said. It is located in Coclé province, about 100 miles southwest of Panama City.
For more than a month, protests against Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine have held Panama in a state of siege. Roadblocks have caused gas and propane shortages. Many supermarket shelves have run bare. Restaurants and hotels have sat empty.
But on Tuesday, protesters in Panama got the news they were waiting for.
The country’s Supreme Court of Justice ruled that Panama’s new mining contract with the Canadian company First Quantum was unconstitutional.
Protesters danced in the streets in front of the Supreme Court. They waved the red, white and blue Panamanian flag and sang the national anthem.
The ruling, a big blow for investors and the country’s long-term credit rating, is, for the moment, a source of relief for Panama, which has been shaken by the country’s largest protest movement to plague the country in decades.
The news of the Supreme Court ruling came early on Tuesday – the day of the anniversary of Panama’s Independence from Spain.
“Today, we are celebrating two independences,” 58-year-old restaurant worker Nestor Gonzalez told Al Jazeera. “Independence from Spain and independence from the mine. And no one is going to forget it.”
People turned out to celebrate. The bistro where Gonzalez works, in the western province of Chiriqui, was packed with patrons by noon – something the restaurant had not seen since mid-October.
“We are so happy,” said Gonzalez, “because, we had been locked up in the province of Chiriqui for 35 days, without gas, without propane and with little food. I had to go look for firewood in the mountains because I had no propane to cook with. So thank God that the justices took a stand and issued this ruling.”
The mine, known as Cobre Panama, has been in production since 2019, and extracting 300,000 tonnes of copper a year. It represents roughly five percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 75 percent of Panamanian exports. The mining sector contributes roughly seven percent of Panama’s GDP with Cobre Panama as the country’s most important mine.
But protesters said Cobre Panama was a disaster for the country’s environment and a handout to a foreign corporation.
“I’m protesting because they are stealing our country. They are just handing it over,” said Ramon Rodriguez, a protester in a yellow raincoat in a march in late October, after protests ignited against the mine. “The sovereignty of our country is in danger. That’s why I’m here.”
This question of sovereignty is particularly important for Panamanians, who fought throughout the 20th century to rid the country of the United States-controlled Panama Canal Zone. This was an area almost half the size of the US state of Rhode Island that sliced through the middle of Panama.
“This contract is bad. It never should have been made. Never. So you have to fight,” said Miriam Caballero, a middle-aged woman in a grey sweatshirt who watched the October protest pass.
Protesters said Cobre Panama was a disaster for the country’s environment and a handout to the Canadian firm that had the mining contract [Michael Fox/Al Jazeera]
Impact on foreign investment
This was not the first contract with the mine. In 2021, the Supreme Court declared the previous contract unconstitutional for not adequately benefitting the public good. The government of President Laurentino Cortizo renegotiated the contract with improved benefits for the state. This was fast-tracked through Congress on October 20. Cortizo signed it into law hours later.
The president and his cabinet had applauded the new contract, saying it would bring windfall profits for the state.
“The contract ensures a minimum payment to the state of $375m dollars a year, for the next 20 years,” Commerce Minister Federico Alfaro told Panama news outlet Telemetro. “If you can compare this with what the state was receiving before, which was $35m a year, it’s a substantial improvement to the past.”
Cortizo promised to use the funds to shore up the country’s Social Security Fund and increase pensions for more than 120,000 retirees.
After the protests spiralled out of control, he announced a moratorium on all new mining projects and promised to hold a referendum over the fate of Cobre Panama. The idea didn’t gain traction. The protesters wouldn’t budge.
Members of Panama’s business sector have blamed Cortizo for mishandling the crisis and refusing to use a heavy hand to end the roadblocks and stop the protests. Last week, they said it had cost the country $1.7bn.
Cortizo, whose approval rating was already down to 24 percent in June, responded to this week’s court ruling, stating, “All Panamanians need to respect and abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court.”
Analysts say the protests and the ruling will have an impact for foreign companies looking to do business in Panama.
“I believe this court ruling is sending a very clear message to foreign investors,” Jorge Cuellar, assistant professor of Latin American studies at Dartmouth College, told Al Jazeera. “If this is the kind of foreign investment that politicians and capitalists are innovating in 2023, then Panamanians want no part of it.”
But this stance will likely come at a price.
In early November, after more than a week of protests, rating agency Moody’s downgraded Panama’s debt to the lowest investment-grade rating. It cited financial issues and noted the political turmoil. JP Morgan analysts said, at the time, that if the mining contract were revoked, it would substantially increase Panama’s risk of losing its investment-grade rating.
First Quantum also has much to lose. Its shares have lost 60 percent of their value over the last month and a half. More than 40 percent of the company’s production comes from the Panamanian mine.
Over the weekend, the company notified Panama that it planned to take the country to arbitration under the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.
But in a statement released after the ruling, First Quantum said, “The Company wishes to express that it respects Panamanian laws and will review the content of the judgement to understand its foundations.”
Protesters said the country’s sovereignty was at stake [Michael Fox/Al Jazeera]
‘Jobs at risk’
The announcement is also a blow for the employees of the mine. The mine employs roughly 6,600 people – 86 percent of whom are Panamanian – and a total 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Union of Panamanian Mine Workers, Utramipa, announced its members would march in several cities on Wednesday against the Supreme Court decision and in defence of their jobs.
“We are not going to allow them to put our jobs at risk, which are our means for supporting our families,” the union said in a statement.
Last week, Utramipa member Michael Camacho denounced the protests on the news outlet Panama En Directo. Operations at the mine were suspended last week due to protests at its port and the highway in and out of the facility.
“What about us, the workers? We are also Panamanians. We have the right to go to our homes and return to our place of work,” said Camacho. “But at this moment, we are being held hostage by the protesters, by the anti-social, the terrorists – which is what we should call them – and the people that stop us from passing.”
For the majority of Panamanians, the Supreme Court ruling is a welcomed sign that the country is on the road to normalcy.
Protesters in some provinces have promised to stay in the streets until the Supreme Court ruling is officially published – which usually takes a few days – or until the mine is closed for good. But many roadblocks have now been cleared, highways that stood empty for weeks are now open, and gas stations are rolling back in business.
“We are in a new phase,” Harry Brown Arauz, the director of Panama’s International Center of Social and Political Studies, told Al Jazeera. “The protests, as we have seen until now, should be lifted. And the government has said that it will begin the process of closing the mine in an orderly manner. This can generate confidence in the population, which had been lost.”
Arauz says the protest movement and the ruling are a powerful sign of the strength of Panama’s democracy, which the country regained just over 30 years ago.
“This is a really important moment,” he says. “It marks a before and after for Panamanian democracy.”
A 77-year-old man shot dead two environmental protesters on Wednesday in an apparent outburst of rage over a roadblock in Panama.
The gunman was named in local media as Kenneth Franklin Darlington Salas. If he is convicted, Mr Salas could be sentenced to house arrest rather than being sent to jail because of his age.
The protesters, who were opposed to a controversial mining contract, had blocked the Pan-American Highway in Chame, 51 miles from the capital Panama City.
Footage posted on social media showed the motorist walking from his car, demanding the protesters get out of the road.
Initially, Mr Salas removed tyres which were obstructing the road. The protesters, according to witnesses, shouted at the man: “Are you going to kill someone?”
The gunman replied: “You want to be the first?”
He opened fire, first shooting a protester holding a flag and then a second man who went to confront him, before walking off and removing tree trunks that had been blocking the road. He was then arrested.
Local media identified the victims as Abdiel Diaz, a teacher and union activist, and Ivan Mendoza.
The deaths are the first fatalities in protests that broke out on October 20 against a contract that allows Canada-based First Quantum Minerals to operate Central America’s biggest open pit copper mine for at least another 20 years.
The man was handcuffed and detained – Bienvenido Velasco/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The site, in the jungle to the west of the capital, is considered environmentally sensitive.
In an effort to calm tempers, congress last week passed a law that imposes a moratorium on new metal mining contracts and left it up to the Supreme Court to decide on whether to allow the contract with First Quantum Minerals.
Environmentalists have welcomed this decision by lawmakers, saying indeed it is the court that should rule on whether the contract violates the constitution.
But a powerful construction union called Suntracs, teachers unions and other organisations want the contract to be annulled through a law passed by Congress, so they are continuing their protests.
Panama-America said Mr Salas was born in Colon and had been a teacher at several universities.
Mr Salas was previously arrested in 2005 after weapons – including an AK-47 and M-16 – were found in his flat. He was later acquitted after a court accepted his plea that they were merely part of a collection.
He was employed as a spokesman for Marc Harris, a Panamanian accountant who was jailed for 17 years in 2004 after being convicted of money laundering and tax evasion.
Record numbers have crossed the Darien Gap, a strip of jungle between Panama and Colombia once seen as impassable.
The Central American nation of Panama has announced new measures to crack down on migrants and asylum seekers entering the country, as a record number of people attempt to cross the inhospitable Darien Gap.
On Friday, Panamanian authorities said that they would increase deportations, build new installations in border areas and increase requirements for foreigners seeking short-term stays.
“We will increase these deportations so that the required impact is felt,” National Immigration Authority Director Samira Gozaine said on Friday.
She explained that President Laurentino Cortizo had authorised charter planes to be used to help with the planned uptick in deportation flights. Gozaine also said her government agency would collaborate with the security ministry to increase the deportation of people with criminal records by twofold.
In addition, Panama will decrease the maximum tourist stay from 90 days to 15. Visitors will be required to demonstrate they have at least $1,000 in funds, up from $500.
Gozaine added that those requirements would not apply to all nationalities.
For years, Central American nations have stepped up immigration enforcement efforts, often at the behest of the United States, erecting new obstacles for the steady stream of people making the journey north.
The journey is plagued with violence, with areas like the Darien Gap under the control of criminal networks and armed groups.
A strip of thick jungle connecting Colombia and Panama, the gap has a reputation for injury and death. Not only do migrants and asylum seekers face threats from criminal organisations, but the terrain is so perilous it was once considered impassable, with steep mountains, rushing rivers and tangled forest.
Official data shows that more than 350,000 people have navigated the Darien Gap so far in 2023.
That number has already blown past the previous record of 250,000 in 2022, and the United Nations expected this year’s total to reach 400,000, an unprecedented level.
In April, the US announced an agreement with Panama and Colombia to “end” migration through the Darien Gap. That agreement included a 60-day period of increased enforcement operations, as well as some efforts to address “root causes” of migration in the region, such as poverty and political instability.
Still, people from countries like Haiti, Venezuela and Afghanistan continue to risk their lives walking across the gap, in the absence of accessible legal pathways to countries like the US.
Migrant rights groups have slammed heightened immigration enforcement efforts, arguing that they push migrants and asylum seekers to pursue ever more dangerous journeys to avoid authorities.
Many of those making the journey north, they add, are fleeing violence or extreme poverty in their home countries. According to the UN, one in five of those braving the Darien Gap this year are children.
Every ship that transits the Panama Canal uses tens of millions of gallons of fresh water to pass through. A historic drought in Panama is limiting the number of ships allowed to pass and the amount of cargo they can carry. CBS News’ Ben Tracy reports.
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El Niño — or “the little boy” in Spanish — marks the unusual warming of the surface waters in the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. It is a naturally occurring climate pattern which takes place on average every two to seven years.
The effects of El Niño tend to peak during December, but its full impact typically takes time to spread across the globe. This lag is why forecasters believe 2024 could be the first year when humanity surpasses the key climate threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Global average temperatures in 2022 were 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer when compared with the late 19th century.
In drought-stricken Panama, low water levels have prompted the Central American country to reduce the number of vessels that pass through the critically important Panama Canal.
The restrictions have created a logjam of ships waiting to traverse the route, which many companies favor, as it typically slashes the travel time between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The Panama Canal Authority, which manages the waterway, said earlier this month that the measures were necessary because of “unprecedented challenges.” It added that the severity of this year’s drought had “no historical precedence.”
The Panama Canal pileup comes shortly after the U.N. weather agency declared the onset of El Niño, which is likely to pave the way for a spike in global temperatures and extreme weather conditions.
What we see right now is perhaps only the starter of the main course that is being served next year.
Peter Sands
Chief analyst at Xeneta
Peter Sands, chief analyst at air and ocean freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, said maritime chokepoints exist “all over the place,” but that typically only calamitous events such as the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction tend to expose the fragility of the “just-in-time” delivery model.
“I think global shipping is like the world’s largest invisible sector,” Sands told CNBC via videoconference. “We all rely on services and the goods carried by sea, but we hardly ever get to think about how they end up on the shelves — unless something goes wrong.”
The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, ran aground for almost a week in March 2021 while contending with strong winds. The obstruction halted all traffic on one of the world’s busiest trade routes, causing massive disruption between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Analysts have since warned that extreme weather driven by the climate crisis could increase the frequency of Ever Given-like events, with potentially far-reaching consequences for supply chains, food security and regional economies.
Vessels waiting to cross Panama Canal from Pacific Ocean side. Red square indicates Panama Canal
‘Planet Labs PBC’
Addressing the unusually long delays at the Panama Canal, Sands said that, while officials have previously imposed restrictions on ships due to low water levels, the onset of El Niño could exacerbate the problem.
“What we see right now is perhaps only the starter of the main course that is being served next year because it could be [a] more severe drought when we get to the first half of 2024,” Sands said, citing the impact of El Niño.
“Right now, we do not see that filling up of the water levels that a normal year would bring around. So, it is literally a potential disaster in the making,” he added.
Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had been “largely unaffected” by the Panama Canal delays, although it warned that climate risks to major shipping routes were becoming more prevalent with potentially severe impacts.
“We have actually had to deal with some of this back from the 1990s,” Lars Ostergaard Nielsen, head of the Americas liner operations center at Maersk, told CNBC via videoconference.
“I think the difference is that it is perhaps becoming more prevalent, it is more perhaps severe, if you like, in terms of the impact today.”
A crane loads a shipping container branded A.P. Moller-Maersk onto a freight ship.
Balint Porneczi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Referring to low water levels and the restrictions in place on the Panama Canal, Nielsen said the drought is prompting Maersk to load approximately 2,000 containers fewer than usual on the same vessel.
Typically, Nielsen said container ships might need to comply with a maximum depth of 50 feet on the Panama Canal. Current restrictions require ships to adhere to 44 feet of draft, forcing container ships to either weigh less or transport fewer goods.
“Six feet of water, that makes a big difference,” Nielsen said.
While the Panama Canal is likely to be one of the shipping routes most exposed to climate vulnerabilities, it is not the only waterway struggling to cope with the effects of extreme weather.
Low water levels on the Rhine River, an important trade route that runs through Germany via European cities to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, is also of concern.
Ships sail across the Rhine at Bacharach in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Falling water levels on Europe’s busiest waterway have become a regular occurrence in recent years, making it more difficult for vessels to transit at capacity and increasing shipping costs.
“On the Rhine … it’s basically more daily tactical decisions simply because it’s short trips [and] it’s relatively easy to find alternatives so you can actually deal with that quite late in your processes,” Nielsen said.
“Whereas [with the] Panama Canal, you really have to plan it quite early because by the time you have a crossed the Pacific etc., you don’t really have any other options once you arrive,” he added.
Global insurance broker Marsh warned in a report published late last year that greater focus should be given to understanding the vulnerabilities of maritime chokepoints, given the increasing incidence of climate-driven disruptive weather events.
In the case of the Suez Canal, Marsh cited coastal inundation — where the sea level rises high enough to flood infrastructure — and the increasing chance of extreme heat as physical risks that will only be aggravated by the climate emergency.
If any of the five major waterways worldwide were disrupted by accidents or political events, analysts at Marsh said the impacts will be felt far beyond global supply chains. The broker recognized these five major waterways as the Suez and Panama canals, the Strait of Malacca between Indonesia and Malaysia, the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, and the Bab-el-Mandeb between Djibouti and Yemen.
A LATAM Airlines flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile, had to make an emergency landing after one of the plane’s pilots suffered an apparent heart attack in the bathroom.
Midway through the trip, flight attendants discovered Captain Iván Andaur Santibáñez collapsed and unresponsive, prompting the plane’s two co-pilots to land in Panama City.
A nurse and two doctors boarded the plane but could not resuscitate Andaur.
“When the plane landed, emergency services provided life-saving help, but the pilot sadly passed away,” the airline told The New York Post. “LATAM Group is deeply saddened by this event and takes this opportunity to express our most sincere condolences to the family of our employee.”
The nurse, who identified herself only as Isadora, said: “Unfortunately, we did not have the necessary or sufficient supplies to perform a good resuscitation.”
It was unclear what supplies she was referring to.
About the flight
There were 271 passengers aboard LATAM Airlines flight 505, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, according to The Independent. The plane departed Miami at 10:11 pm on Monday. In addition to the three pilots manning the flight during the medical emergency, the flight also had a relief captain and first officer onboard. According to reports, it took the pilots about 30 minutes to land the plane after learning of the incident.
“They told us that we were going to land because the pilot felt sick, and when we arrived, they asked us to evacuate the plane because the situation had worsened,” said an unidentified passenger.
Captain Santibáñez was a 25-year veteran of the airline.
In a statement, LATAM Airlines said:
“We are deeply moved by what has happened, and we extend our sincere condolences to the family of our employee. We are deeply grateful for his 25-year career and his valuable contribution, which was always distinguished by his dedication, professionalism, and dedication. During the flight, all the necessary safety protocols were carried out to safeguard the life of the affected pilot.”
A ship navigates through the Panama Canal in the area near the Americas’ Bridge in Panama City on April 24, 2023. The scarcity of rainfall due has forced the Panama Canal to reduce the draft of ships passing through the interoceanic waterway, in the midst of a water supply crisis that threatens the future of this maritime route.
Luis Acosta | Afp | Getty Images
The number of vessels waiting to cross the Panama Canal has reached 154, and slots for carriers to book passage are being reduced in an effort to manage congestion caused by ongoing drought conditions that have roiled the major shipping gateway since the spring. The current wait time to cross the canal is now around 21 days.
The Panama Canal is a critical trade link for U.S. shippers heading to Gulf and East Coast ports.The U.S. is the largest user of the Panama Canal, with total U.S. commodity export and import containers representing about 73% of Panama Canal traffic. Forty percent of all U.S. container traffic travels through the canal every year, about $270 billion in cargo.
The massive pileup is a result of water conservation measures the Panama Canal Authority deployed in late July due to drought. The PCA has temporarily lowered the availability of booking slots from August 8-August 21 for Panamax vessels, which are the largest vessels that can cross the canal. These vessels can carry 4,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which are the dimensions of a container. The number of pre-booking slots was reduced to 14 daily from 23.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs detail the congestion.
Vessels waiting to cross Panama Canal from Pacific Ocean side. Red square indicates Panama Canal
‘Planet Labs PBC’
This latest reduction in bookings is on the heels of the PCA reducing the number of vessels allowed to go through the canal in a day. Starting on July 30, 2023, the daily transit capacity of the Panama Canal was adjusted to an average of 32 vessels per day (10 vessels in the newer Neopanamax locks, which serve the larger vessels, and 22 vessels in the older Panamax locks). Before the water conservation measures, transits were 34 to 36 a day.
When the daily capacity is reduced, ships lacking reservations are compelled to wait in line. The Panama Canal Authority tells CNBC 38% of ships waiting have reservations. The remaining 62% of ships do not, which means they have to wait for the vessels with reservations to proceed across the canal.
A temporary measure was put in place where five ships a day on the Panamax locks can traverse the canal on a first come first served basis. The measure is designed to help reduce waiting times but backlog remains.
The PCA told CNBC that the last time a backlog of vessels like the current situation was in 2022, when the world of shipping was impacted by residual delays from the pandemic and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Additional lower water level restrictions imposed by the PCA in July also require vessels to be 40% lighter, impacting vessels that were in transit when the requirements were implemented. The Ever Max was forced to unload 1,400 TEUs at the Port of Balboa in order to meet the requirements and gain passage. The vessel is currently anchored at the Port of Savannah.
“Those containers left may need another vessel to complete the journey,” said Captain Adil Ashiq, head of North America for MarineTraffic. “This is going to get worse before it gets better,” he said.
A canal lock uses 50 million gallons of water when a single vessel traverses the canal. Water levels in Gatun Lake, which feeds the canal, are at a four-year low.
Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal, said that considering the changing circumstances, the canal is maintaining an open line of communication to keep customers informed about booking slot availability. “Through regular updates, transparent dialogue, and close collaboration with shipping lines and stakeholders, we strive to manage expectations and provide real-time information that enables our customers to make informed decisions,” he said.
Ashiq explained that vessels have to wait longer to transit the canal or ocean carriers make a business decision to take alternative routes, which add time and fuel costs to the journey. Shippers using multiple vessels to move their freight adds to freight costs, and longer lead times to secure bookings. Ultimately, he said, these costs may end up being passed down to businesses and consumers.
Recent data released by supply chain intelligence firm Descartes shows the East Coast ports continue to be the preference for U.S. shippers. The top five West Coast ports showed a decrease of 4.1% in July, and the top East and Gulf Coast ports processed an increase of 4.1% during the same timeframe.
“Now is not the time to further stress supply chains that are still straining under ongoing logistical pressures,” said Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. He said surcharges and vessel restrictions will likely mean higher clothing and shoe prices for U.S. consumers this holiday season.
Alan Baer, CEO of logistics company OL USA, told CNBC that shippers may have to start looking at other routes.
“With the increasing difficulty of reaching the U.S. East Coast via the Panama Canal, importers may be looking at vessels transiting the Suez,” Baer said. He added that this can be an effective solution for freight originating in the ASEAN region and some Southern China origins. However, for Northern China and North Asia, deviation via the Suez can add seven to 14 days of additional transit time.
Energy sector diversions are already happening
Diversions are already happening in the energy sector. The mounting delays have clean tankers, which carry refined petroleum products, avoiding the canal, shifting their preference to book routes to the Atlantic Basin, according to S&P Global. Data from its Commodities at Sea unit shows that in the combined June to July period, U.S. Gulf Coast clean petroleum product exports using the canal and traveling to the West Coast of South America slowed by 82% year over year. Exports in July, specifically, were down 12% year over year.
Cheniere Energy announced in July that it would avoid the Panama Canal to ship LNG because of the wait times. The canal is the quickest route for the LNG market to reach Asia. Coal traffic is also being impacted and making adjustments. India is a big importer of U.S. coal and vessels carrying the commodity also use the Panama Canal.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct volume in traffic for the top five West Coast ports and the top East and Gulf Coast ports during the same time frame.
As climate change and rising sea levels threaten the island of Gardi Sugdub, leaders in the local Indigenous community are increasingly worried that the Panamanian government will fail to follow through on promises to help with relocation.
In a 52-page report on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said “ongoing government delays” pose a serious threat to the human rights of Panama’s Indigenous Guna people.
According to the group’s findings, the government has repeatedly failed to provide housing and infrastructure to a new community site on higher ground, despite repeated assurances and plans stretching back to 2010.
“Panama should follow through on its promises and provide immediate support so the Gardi Sugdub community can relocate with dignity,” said Erica Bower, a climate displacement researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.
“It’s not too late for the government to take this opportunity and create a blueprint that coastal communities elsewhere in Panama and globally can turn to as they confront the climate change crisis.”
Small island, big problems
Gardi Sugdub — or “Crab Island” — is part of an archipelago on Panama’s Caribbean coast expected to face “the most severe impacts” of climate change, according to the report.
At its highest point, the island is only one metre (3.2 feet) above sea level. And as the tides creep higher and higher, the island’s Guna residents are finding themselves with less and less space.
An estimated 1,300 Guna people are packed onto an island only 300 metres (984 feet) long and 125 metres (410 feet) wide. And yearly floods — lasting up to two weeks at a time — have caused significant damage to their homes and livelihoods.
“When I got home, the pier and the toilet had washed away,” one Gardi Sugdub resident, Eustacio Valdez, told Human Rights Watch, as he recalled one flood in 2008.
“The canoes were gone. There were high waves. It was flooded for a week. School was suspended.”
High schoolers from the Guna Indigenous community celebrate Panama’s Independence Day in Panama City in 2015 [File: Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo]
A difficult decision
In 2010, the Guna community on Gardi Sugdub arrived at a heavy conclusion: The only sustainable solution was to relocate to a different site.
“We are already too many in this town and we don’t fit,” Magdalena Martinez, secretary of the Neighborhood Committee on Gardi Sugdub, told Human Rights Watch. “There isn’t any more room.”
To house their growing population, Guna community members donated a site for the project on the mainland, nicknamed “Isperyala” for its abundance of loquat trees.
Around that time, Panama’s government also promised to build a “model school” and hospital for the area by 2014. But both have yet to be completed, according to Human Rights Watch.
In 2017, the Ministry of Housing likewise committed to building 300 homes for the Guna people, as well as providing services like potable water, sanitation and roads.
The project was originally slated to take 450 calendar days, according to Human Rights Watch. But then the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic slowed construction. A new completion date was set for September 2023. That too was delayed.
“The government is not complying with what it agreed to for this project. Look at that delay. That is not fair,” community member Dillion Navarro said in the report.
A measure of ‘last resort’
Meanwhile, on Gardi Sugdub, the Guna people struggle with overcrowding, a lack of educational resources for their children and unreliable access to fresh water, contributing to a high rate of gastrointestinal disease and poor sanitation.
The Human Rights Watch report noted that the conditions in Gardi Sugdub reflected hazards facing vulnerable coastal communities around the world.
“Even under the most optimistic scenarios of planetary warming, sea level rise is inevitable,” the report reads. “But planning today will mitigate some of the risks of tomorrow.”
The report adds that relocation is “a measure of last resort” for Indigenous communities, who often have strong ties to their homelands.
For the Guna, the islands provided sanctuary from centuries of colonial oppression. Starting in 1650, missionaries forced their people into settlements. Spanish colonisers confronted them with violence. And later, the Panamanian government attempted to suppress their traditional ways.
The islands also allowed the Guna to escape the mosquito-borne diseases common on the mainland.
But conditions on Gardi Sugdub are only expected to worsen due to climate change.
A health worker fumigates a house in the region of Guna Yala after 50 reported cases of Zika in 2016 [Panama Ministry of Health handout/Reuters]
A widespread crisis
Human Rights Watch has estimated that at least 38 other islands in Guna Yala — the Guna’s ancestral territory — will soon require relocation, as well, due to climbing sea levels. That includes a total of approximately 28,000 people.
And the Guna are hardly alone in facing this plight. The report noted that climate risks and other threats have prompted more than 400 planned relocations worldwide.
But, the report concludes, results have been slow to materialise for the Guna: “To date, not a single person has moved.”
It calls for “immediate support” to be given to the Guna people, as they contend with the worsening crisis.
Saturday’s action is highlighted by the mouth-watering clash between European giant France and South American juggernaut Brazil, with As Canarinhas knowing a win will secure passage through to the last 16.
Elsewhere, Sweden takes on Italy, before the potentially historic match up between Jamaica and Panama rounds off the day’s action.
In the US, the matches will air on your local Fox channel. You can also stream the matches by signing in with your TV provider at foxsports.com or on the Fox Sports app. Telemundo and Peacock are providing Spanish-language coverage.
Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.
A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
Sweden vs. Italy starts at 3:30 a.m. ET, France vs. Brazil kicks off at 6 a.m. ET and Panama takes on Jamaica at 8:30 a.m. ET.
With victories in their opening Group G matches, and with Argentina and South Africa drawing on Friday, both Sweden and Italy can qualify for the knockout stages with another three points.
Sweden will be the favorite going into Saturday’s first match, but the growth of women’s football in Italy has continued since the national team reached the second round of the knockout stages for the first time in its history four years ago in France.
The Swedes needed a 90th-minute winner to edge past South Africa in its opening group match, denying Banyana Banyana a first ever Women’s World Cup point, and will certainly need to improve significantly to get past Italy.
Italy’s 16-year-old sensation Giulia Dragoni – nicknamed ‘Little Messi’ – played a crucial role in the heart of the team’s midfield as Le Azzurre earned a narrow 1-0 win.
It’s not often you get a heavyweight clash such as this in the group stages of the World Cup.
There is an added layer of intrigue given France’s 0-0 draw against Jamaica in its opening match, with the pressure firmly on Les Bleues to try and avoid an early exit in Australia and New Zealand.
Brazil, conversely, was impressive in its opening match against Panama, running out a comfortable 4-0 winner. Talisman and icon Marta, playing in her sixth and final World Cup, could come back into the starting lineup against France after starting on the bench against Panama.
France, ranked fifth in the world, will be buoyed by the number of chances it created against Jamaica, but will need to be far less wasteful in front of goal to have any chance of beating Brazil.
After securing the team’s first ever point at a Women’s World Cup, Jamaica will be full of confidence that it can go one better against Panama.
The Reggae Girlz were hugely impressive against France in that goalless draw but will have to try and overcome Panama without star player Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, who was sent off for a second bookable offense late in the previous game.
With the country appearing at a Women’s World Cup for the first time, Panama’s players were reduced to tears during the national anthem ahead of the match against Brazil.
The team will certainly have more of a chance against Jamaica and will likely be eying a first ever Women’s World Cup point.
A photo of Fenix Marine Services rail terminal on June 8, 2023, taken by a trucker.
The “slow and go” pace of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union workforce at West Coast ports has slowed ground port productivity to a crawl. As a result, supply chain intelligence company MarineTraffic data shows what it is calling a “significant surge” in the average number of containers waiting outside of port limits.
At the Port of Oakland, during the week of June 5, the average TEUs (ton equivalent units) waiting off port limits rose to 35,153 from 25,266, according to MarineTraffic. At the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, the average TEUs waiting off port limits rose to 51,228 from 21,297 the previous week, said a MarineTraffic spokeswoman.
The value of the combined 86,381 containers floating off the ports of Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach reached $5.2 billion, based on a $61,000 value per container, and customs data.
According to data exclusively pulled for CNBC by Vizion, which tracks container shipments, the seven-day rate for a container cleared through the Port of Oakland is operating at 58%; at Port of Long Beach it is 64%; and at Port of Los Angeles it is 62%.
“Our data shows that vessels will continue arriving at West Coast ports in the coming days with significant amounts of cargo to unload,” said Kyle Henderson, CEO of Vizion. There are no indications at this time that ocean carriers have plans to cancel any sailings to these ports, he said, but he added, “If these labor disputes continue to affect port efficiency, we could see backlogs similar to those experienced during the pandemic. Obviously, that’s the last thing that any shipper wants as we turn the corner into the back half of the year and peak season.”
Logistics managers with knowledge of the way the union rank-and-file displeased with unresolved issues in negotiations with port management are influencing work shifts tell CNBC the slowdown can be attributed to skilled labor not showing up for work. CNBC has also learned that at select port terminals, requests for additional work made through official work orders are not being placed on the wall of the union hall for fulfillment. The Pacific Maritime Association, which negotiates on behalf of the ports, is not allowed in the union hall to see if the terminal orders are indeed being requested. CNBC has been told that if the additional job postings were being put up the data would show they are not being filled. Only original labor ordered from the PMA is being filled.
The PMA said in a statement on Friday afternoon that between June 2 and June 7, the ILWU at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach refused to dispatch lashers who secure cargo for trans-Pacific voyages and unfasten cargo after ships arrive. “Without this vital function, ships sit idle and cannot be loaded or unloaded, leaving American exports sitting at the docks unable to reach their destination,” the statement read. “The ILWU’s refusal to dispatch lashers had been part of a broader effort to withhold necessary labor from the docks.”
PMA cited a failure on Wednesday morning to fill 260 of the 900 jobs ordered at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and in total, 559 registered longshore workers who came to the dispatch hall were denied work opportunities by the union, PMA asserted in its statement.
“Each shift without lashers working resulted in more ships sitting idle, occupying berths and causing a backup of incoming vessels,” it stated.
However, the PMA said ILWU’s decision to stop withholding labor has allowed terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to avert, for now, “the domino effect that would have resulted in backups not seen since last year’s supply chain meltdown.”
The PMA cited “generally improved” operations at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland, but at the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, a continuation of “significant slowdowns.”
The ILWU has declined to comment, citing a media blackout during ongoing labor talks.
The average truck turns to go in and out of the West Coast ports are up.
A trucker waiting for a container at LA’s Fenix Marine Services terminal shared photos from their truck with CNBC showing congestion on both rail and the road where truckers wait to pick up their containers.
Shippers are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential need to find alternative supply chain options.
A spokesperson for Long Beach, California-based Cargomatic, which focuses on drayage and short-haul trucking logistics, said it isn’t yet seeing trade diversions, but added, “As a national drayage partner, we have contingency plans built in with capacity ready to service our customers anywhere in the U.S. We know that shippers are very nervous and it’s only a matter of time before they pivot if this situation becomes prolonged.”
The PMA said in its statement that even though some port operations have improved, “the ILWU’s repeated disruptive work actions at strategic ports along the West Coast are increasingly causing companies to divert cargo to more customer-friendly and reliable locations along the Gulf and East Coasts.”
West Coast ports, which had lost significant volume to East Coast ports over the past year due to volatility in the labor contract talks, had in recent months begun to gain back volume.
A photo of a truck build up at Fenix Marine Services terminal at the Port of Los Angeles waiting to pick up containers taken by a trucker.
Ocean freight intelligence company Xeneta says its data shows that container spot freight rates jumped 15% in the first days of June as a result of several simultaneous disruptions. Recent Panama Canal low water levels limited cargo throughput, and soon after that, large parts of U.S. West Coast ports stopped handling inbound and outbound container trade.
“Shippers in search of more reliable and resilient supply chains now consider their options,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta. “The longer this drags on, the more severe the consequences will be for shippers and terminals,” he said.
During Covid, the supply chain breakdowns saw the pileup of vessels waiting off the West Coast influence trade to move to the Gulf and East Coast Ports. If vessels do start diverting again, there are extra costs tacked onto the goods being transferred, which the shipper will be charged. If the vessels divert and go to the Gulf or East Coast ports, they have to either use the Panama Canal, where extra charges on top of the normal additional charges are levied because the Panama Canal is in a critical situation with lower water levels due to drought.
Routes for monthly long-term 'tramp sailings' from Asia to the Americas
— Core trade route --- Alternate route
The Panama Canal's water issues exacerbate costs that would be incurred in any trade re-routing. It has instituted weight requirements for vessels — they need to be lighter to move through. If the vessel is at or under that weight requirement, shippers will be paying additional charges. In addition to the canal fees, some ocean carriers like Hapag Lloyd have instituted a $260 container fee for traveling through the canal. CMA CGM is charging $300 a container. If vessels are heavier than the current requirement, they would be forced to traverse the Pacific Ocean and go around the horn of South America, which would add weeks of travel time and travel costs.
"Vessel diversions are some of the most difficult activities that shippers and our clients deal with during a crisis," said Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage and intermodal at ITS Logistics. During the pandemic and its aftermath, containers destined for Los Angeles or Long Beach would show up unannounced in Houston or Savannah with little to no notice, he said. "We have visibility applications that alert us prior to the container arriving so we can reassign trucking capacity at the new port. But if you don't have this visibility, if you are not able to track the containers like that in real time, you could face thousands of dollars more in shipping and D&D costs per container to accommodate those changes. That inflationary pressure adversely not only affects the shipper but the consumer of those goods," he added.
Supply chain costs have come down considerably on a global basis, according to the Federal Reserve's data, though they have been mentioned by Fed Chair Jerome Powell as one inflationary trigger the central bank has no control over. In a report by Georgetown economist Jonathan Ostry, the spike in shipping costs increased inflation by more than two percentage points in 2022.
"These slowdowns leave little options for shippers who have containers already en route to the West Coast," said Adil Ashiq, head of North America for MarineTraffic, who told CNBC earlier this week that the maritime supply chain issues were "breaking normal."
"They could skip a port and go to another West Coast port, but they are all experiencing levels of congestion," he said on Friday. "So do they wait or divert and go to Houston as the next closest port to discharge cargo?"
If vessels do decide to reroute, it will add days to their journey, which would delay the arrival of the product even more.
For example, if a vessel inbound from Asia decided to reroute to Houston, it would add another 7 to 11 day journey to the Panama Canal. If a vessel is approved to transit through the canal, that adds 8-10 hours of transit time. "You then have to add travel time once out of the canal to the port. So we're looking at conservatively, a 12 to 18 day additional delay if a vessel decides to go to Houston directly from the Canal. Even more, if you have to travel around South America," he said.
Key sectors of the U.S. economy have been pleading with the Biden administration to step in and broker a labor agreement, including trade groups for the retail and manufacturing sectors. On Friday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce added its voice to this effort, expressing its concerns about a "serious work stoppage" at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach which would likely cost the U.S. economy nearly half a billion dollars a day. It estimates a more widespread strike along the West Coast could cost approximately $1 billion per day.
"The best outcome is an agreement reached voluntarily by the negotiating parties. But we are concerned the current sticking point – an impasse over wages and benefits – will not be resolved," U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark wrote in a letter to President Biden.
