News
Tuesday 15th July 2025.
July 14, 2025
The government will seek to convince Chiquita Brands to resume at least 20% of its operations in Bocas del Toro.
This was announced by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Julio Moltó , in an interview with TVN Noticias , noting that while it is difficult to rehire all of the nearly 7,000 workers, they are trying to save some jobs.
” I think there’s an opportunity to save another 20%, which would generate direct employment. While it wouldn’t be the 7,000 jobs [as before], it would be a first step if we reach an agreement with the company ,” he said.
According to the minister, preliminary talks have already been held with Chiquita executives, and formal discussions will be held in the coming days to discuss what terms both parties would be willing to negotiate.
” We can’t allow a company like this to lose its investment in the country. It’s our duty to ensure it stays, ” he stressed.
Moltó also noted that part of the strategy must include modernizing the company’s operations, incorporating technology, mechanization, and new productivity practices. ” This can allow for the creation of sustainable jobs with less land and the recovery of a key industry for Panamanian exports ,” he said.
The shutdown occurred after a union dispute was declared illegal by authorities. The dispute led to roadblocks and closures that lasted nearly two months.
The minister also emphasized that the government has supported small producers and seeks to support the development of other sectors in the province. “We are preparing a project to professionalize cacao farming, as has been successfully done with coffee. In addition, there is potential in livestock, fishing, and tourism, especially on Isla Colón, the second most visited destination in the country,” he noted.
Regarding concerns about the government’s stance toward unions, Moltó was emphatic: ” This is a pro-labor government that respects union rights. We want to create jobs, and that is achieved by supporting private enterprise, which is the main source of employment in the country .”
The minister emphasized the need to act quickly. “We cannot allow these farms to continue to deteriorate. If anything is going to be achieved, it must be done soon. We will do everything possible to ensure Chiquita stays in Panama and to restore the jobs that Bocas del Toro so desperately needs.”
The National Union of Construction and Related Workers (Suntracs) announced this Monday, July 14, that it will call internal elections to renew its board of directors in August , in accordance with its bylaws. Although the exact date was not revealed, leaders insisted that the process will take place “despite the current situation facing the union.”
There will be no secret vote, it will be by show of hands.
The announcement comes amid a complex political and judicial situation for the organization, which denounces a campaign of persecution by the government of José Raúl Mulino. During a press conference held at the union’s headquarters on Avenida Perú, spokespersons for the organization, including Yamir Córdoba , undersecretary of organization, recalled that the president had stated that he would seek to reduce Suntracs to its “minimal expression,” which they interpreted as an intention to eliminate the union.
Saúl Méndez has been the organization’s secretary general since 2010. He was re-elected in the internal elections of 2013 , 2016 , 2019 , and 2022. He currently remains a refugee in the Bolivian embassy, a diplomatic mission where he requested asylum due to feeling persecuted by the Mulino government.
Méndez took over the reins of Suntracs with the elections of August 26, 2010. This took place during an extraordinary assembly held at the Yuyín Luzcando gymnasium in Betania. The vote, in which hundreds of workers carrying red flags participated, was conducted by standing ovation. The only candidate was the one headed by Méndez, which included 13 other people.
According to Córdoba and another leader, more than 120 members have been prosecuted in total. This list includes Jaime Caballero , who is being held at the Mega Joya, and Genaro López , who is under house arrest.
In addition to the internal elections, Suntracs is also negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) , another front that, according to its leaders, they will confront “with unity, discipline, and firmness.”
After 81 days of strikes, hundreds of teachers returned to the classrooms this Monday, July 14, after the teachers’ unions signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education (Meduca) . The protest, called since April 23 to reject the controversial Law 462 —which reformed the Social Security pension system —became one of the longest-running conflicts in the education sector in the country’s recent history.
However, the return has not been equal for everyone. During a webinar held Sunday night, the general secretaries of the teachers’ unions acknowledged that the strike was “tough” and that many educators are now facing a critical situation: they don’t even have money to pay for their return tickets to school. This situation primarily affects teachers in the interior of the country, in rural communities, and indigenous communities, who face economic difficulties that limit their return to work.
“This isn’t a lack of will. It’s an economic and political punishment,” stated union leaders, who also admitted that the agreement reached with the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) failed to meet the movement’s initial objectives. Even so, they defended the pact as a necessary solution to avoid further sanctions, guarantee a safe return to the classroom, and maintain unity among educators.
Teachers who filed appeals for reconsideration with their school principals can expect a response within a maximum of five days , as established in the signed agreement. They emphasized that principals are required to clearly justify the continuation or dismissal of open cases, and stressed that exercising the right to strike should not be interpreted as a breach of morality or good conduct .
The United States Southern Command and members of the National Aeronaval Service ( Senan ), the National Border Service ( Senafront ) and the National Police began this Monday, July 14 , the second phase of training for 80 members of the special forces, called Panamax Alpha 2025 .
The maneuvers, which involve crisis or rescue preparation exercises, seek to ensure that Panamanian security personnel achieve optimal training for carrying out tasks to prevent, mitigate, and detect potential threats to the Panama Canal through joint operations.
The exercises will take place in Panama Bay, Colón, and Darién, where members of the special forces will be tasked with preventing potential threats.
SENAN air commander Juan Alvarado explained that the exercises aim to hone the skills of special forces members in searching for and verifying various targets.
SENAN’s director of naval operations, Mayco Palacios, explained that the training involves tactical work at the Panama Clinic heliport and in the Amador sector, where a simulated vessel boarding drill will be conducted.
Meanwhile, Colonel Lance Abrey of Southern Command said the exercises seek to establish better cooperation between the security forces of Panama and the United States to address potential threats.
He stated that the goal is to maintain the level of cooperation with Panama’s security forces and improve their capabilities.
The operations include the presence of two Black Hawk helicopters, a Chinook transport helicopter and instructors from the Southern Command, whose number was not specified.
On April 4 , the Southern Command and Panamanian security forces carried out the first phase of Operation Panamax 2025 , which included designing strategies to address potential threats to the security of the Panama Canal, ensuring security, and strengthening response strategies to events related to drug trafficking, cybersecurity, and organized crime.
Phase one included the training of 90 Panamanian security forces, who were trained in tactics to combat drug trafficking, cybersecurity, and the integration of operational capabilities to address potential threats to the Panama Canal.
In addition, it was reported that a third phase will follow, involving the evaluation of the practical exercises conducted during the Panamax 2025 operation and the determination of the security areas that need to be strengthened.
On April 8, the United States and Panama signed a memorandum of understanding allowing for the temporary presence of U.S. military personnel on Panamanian territory.
Anti-corruption operations carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office over the past two weeks have resulted in a total of 21 people charged with alleged crimes against public administration, including five former officials, a mayor, and a former director of the Institute for the Training and Utilization of Human Resources (Ifarhu).
One of the investigations, dubbed “Operation Acropolis,” was carried out by the Attorney General’s Office in conjunction with the National Police and resulted in 13 indictments. Among them are officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Ministry of Health (MINSA), implicated in an alleged fraud scheme involving more than $576,000.
According to the investigation, this network attempted to appropriate funds that the MEF was supposed to transfer to a Chinese company, but which were instead diverted to two other companies unrelated to the transaction, with the collaboration of officials from both entities.
In another operation, six people were charged and arrested for their involvement in irregularities in the basic health care program run by the National Council for Sustainable Development (CONADES). The program’s objective was to provide basic services to communities living in extreme poverty and with difficult access.
In this case, preventive detention was ordered for the mayor of Pocrí, Los Santos province, Manuel Soriano, and for contractors who were assigned several projects that were not completed.
The defendants are being investigated for their alleged responsibility for unfinished projects under the Conades basic sanitation program in the district of Macaracas, Los Santos province, valued at $3 million. According to the investigation, a total of 1,104 basic services units were to be built in communities such as Mogollón, Bajo Guera, Espino Amarillo, and El Cedro.
In addition, the Public Prosecutor’s Office opened 14 other files related to projects not executed by Conades in the provinces of Panamá Oeste, Coclé, Veraguas, and Colón.
Conades has filed 22 complaints and two lawsuits related to this program, due to the fact that several projects remained unfinished, despite advances being made toward their implementation. Authorities preliminarily estimate a potential loss to the State of more than $8 million.
Meanwhile, former IFARHU director Bernardo Meneses was arrested as part of an investigation into alleged unjustified enrichment, money laundering, and embezzlement.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of irregularities in the handling of financial aid granted by IFARHU, amounting to $24 million. Among the anomalies detected is the lack of follow-up with beneficiaries, who in many cases did not complete their studies or return the funds granted.
The Prosecutor’s Office is also awaiting audits of several periods during which IFARHU provided financial aid, in order to detect other possible irregularities in the management of the program’s funds.
For its part, Meneses’s defense team has requested that the investigation be extended to include the handling of IFARHU funds under other administrations.