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Tuesday 28th January 2025.

January 27, 2025

 

The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation invited the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to participate in the hearing that will be held on Tuesday, January 28; however, it will not be able to attend the meeting.

The hearing was called by Republican Senator and Chairman of the Committee, Ted Cruz , to examine the role of the Panama Canal and its impact on U.S. trade and national security, in a context in which President Donald Trump has publicly and repeatedly declared his intention to take control of the waterway.

The invitation was addressed directly to Ilya Espino de Marotta , deputy administrator of the ACP, and reached the authority last Saturday night. However, it was not until Sunday (two days before the hearing) that Marotta received it, La Prensa learned .

The hearing, which will be broadcast on the Senate Commerce Committee’s YouTube channel, will begin at 10:00 a.m.

So far, there are four witnesses subpoenaed by Cruz who have confirmed their presence. They are Louis Sola and Daniel Maffei , chairman and commissioner of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission , respectively; Professor Eugene Kontorovich of George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School; and Joseph Joe Kramek , president and CEO of the World Shipping Council, the leading international shipping trade association.

The hearing will examine the challenges of the maritime industry, foreign influence in Panama and “how the Panamanian government may have failed to comply with its obligations under the Neutrality Treaty.”

Marco Rubio , a former senator and current US Secretary of State, has said that a Chinese presence at the Canal would be a violation of the Torrijos-Cartes treaties, which support the transfer of the administration of the waterway into Panamanian hands.

Rubio is coming to Panama this weekend, on his first trip as Secretary of State.


Just days before the arrival of Marco Rubio , Secretary of State of the United States, President José Raúl Mulino met with the American company Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations, and Maintenance (AECOM), to begin work on the master plan for the Panama-David train.

This train, which connects the capital with the city of David, would mark a milestone in the country’s infrastructure, with an investment of around 4 billion dollars.

The megaproject will be divided into two large work areas, one of which will be the civil branch, which will include some 70 bridges. This was stated preliminarily by Henry Faarup , Secretary of the Panama Railway, after a working meeting at the Presidency of the Republic with representatives of AECOM, the National Land Authority (ANATI) and the Ministry of the Environment.

The master plan includes technical studies, conceptual design, demand analysis, budget estimates and implementation strategies.

The project, led at this stage by an American company, is particularly relevant at a time when the administration of President Donald Trump is criticizing the participation of Chinese companies in Panama in key projects and strategic sectors, such as logistics.

The meeting, which was attended by Mulino, was also attended by Bane Gaiser, executive vice president for the Americas at AECOM.

Under the development of the company’s master plan, it will be possible to determine what the construction cost may be, as well as the operating cost of the project.

The number of stations and any developments that may take place around these stops and the train line will be decided.

Originally, the government of Panama, then under the mandate of President Juan Carlos Varela (March 2019), received the results of a feasibility study of a railway system between Panama and David, listed as one of the emblematic projects of non-reimbursable cooperation between Panama and the People’s Republic of China.

Later, during Laurentino Cortizo’s government, the project was shelved, along with other works, while the debt increased and the economy slowed down, with the justification of the effect of the pandemic.

Mulino, in the midst of his presidential campaign, promised the construction of the train as a flagship project that would generate employment.

Once the elections were won in 2024, and in the transition period of government, it was impossible to receive the complete studies that China had left.

The current master plan has been contracted and it has been indicated that this design is very important to adapt the train to the needs of the users and the productive sectors of the country that will benefit from the project.

The master plan update incorporates aspects that were not included in the 2019 project, such as a section connecting Panama Pacifico with the capital city and the section from the city of David to the border at Paso Canoas.

It also includes the preliminary evaluation of a key section of approximately 150 kilometers in length, as well as the analysis of different options for crossing the Panama Canal, either through a bridge or through an additional tunnel to the one being developed for Metro Line 3.


Panama has officially appealed to the World Trade Organization against the report of the Special Group of that body, charged with examining the measures applied to imports from Costa Rica .

“Panama notified its decision to appeal the report of the Panel that examined the matter brought by Costa Rica “Panama — Measures concerning the importation of certain products from Costa Rica” (DS599). The Panel report was circulated to WTO Members on 5 December 2024. The appeal was notified to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on 24 January,” the WTO said in a statement.

The agency also notes that since there is still no agreement among WTO members to fill vacancies in the Appellate Body, there is currently no section of this body that can examine appeals and therefore the Panamanian process on restrictions on Costa Rica.

On December 5, 2024, the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of Costa Rica in the trade conflict with Panama, arising from the restrictions imposed in 2019 and 2020 on the importation of various Costa Rican agricultural products such as dairy products and their derivatives.

According to the ruling, the panel rejected Panama’s main argument that the restrictive measures in question were provisional due to the alleged “insufficient scientific evidence” provided by Costa Rica in the case of strawberries , pineapples , bananas and plantains .

Another WTO body, the Dispute Settlement Body, had placed the issue of the controversy between Panama and Costa Rica on its agenda for Monday, January 27.

The Panamanian government, in this case the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI), decided not to comply with the WTO recommendations and maintained the restrictions on the entry of food and agricultural products from Costa Rica to appeal. A decision that was supported by agricultural producers and the industry of the isthmus.


The Attorney General of the Nation, Luis Carlos Gómez, announced the arrest of 51 people involved in crimes of robbery, homicide, child pornography and money laundering, among which are members of criminal structures linked to organized crime.

Gómez revealed that the arrests took place within the framework of Operation Dignity, in which some 400 National Police officers and prosecutors from across the country participated.

According to the official, it was an operation in which open cases were located for the commission of various crimes, with the aim of stopping the actions of criminal networks operating in the country.

Among the most relevant cases is the arrest of two people who were holding two minors, one of whom was reported missing.

Equipment allegedly used for the distribution and exchange of pornographic material with minors was also located in the area of ​​North Panama and West Panama.

Another ongoing investigation is related to a criminal group dedicated to robbery, car theft, and robbery of selective transport drivers and platform drivers.

Police chief Jaime Fernandez said they are tracking down a criminal group dedicated to fraud, who deceive their victims by offering to sell them vehicles at prices below the local market and once the deposit is made, they cut off all communication.

Fernández acknowledged that one of the areas most affected by crime is the province of Colón, where there have been several cases of homicides and attacks with firearms, which he considered to be linked to drug trafficking.

Likewise, a criminal group was detected that was preparing false documents to obtain loans from local banks. Investigations determined that this group managed to cause damages amounting to $500,000 in two local banks.

Among those arrested are seven people for financial crimes, two for money laundering, six for car theft and eight for crimes against the family legal order.

Attorney General Gomez said that the investigation is aimed at dismantling criminal groups operating in the country and linked to a multitude of crimes.


The National Assembly’s Committee on Labor, Health and Social Development today resumed the debate on the second block of reforms to the Social Security Fund (CSS), focusing on the issues of administration and financial sustainability.

The Vamos deputy and vice president of the Health Commission, Yarelis Rodríguez, assured that, within the framework of the reforms to the CSS, one of the proposals of the coalition in this second block is that the administration of the reserve funds remains under the control of the entity.

According to Rodríguez, in Vamos’ proposal, the CSS will have the power to directly manage these resources, although the investments may be assigned or delegated to state banks, including the National Bank and the Savings Bank.


Merco Panama presented the 7th edition of the Merco ESG Panama ranking, which measures the recognition of companies and corporations in three fundamental areas: Environment (E), Society (S) and Corporate Governance (G).

The presentation, held in the auditorium of the Torre Mercantil, included a list of leading companies in each individual criterion. The most environmentally responsible companies were led by the Panama Canal Authority, while Banco General stood out as the most responsible in both the social and governance spheres.

Prior to the announcement of the overall ranking, Mercantil CEO Ignacio Vollmer and Panama Canal Deputy Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta shared their assessments of the influence of ESG responsibility on corporate reputation.

The top 10 of the most responsible ESG companies in Panama 2024 was as follows:

  • General Bank – 10,000 points. National Bank of Panama – 9,166 points Panama Canal Authority (ACP) – 9,132 points, Copa Airlines – 8,421 points, National Brewery – 8,238 points, The House of Batteries – 7,922 points,, Banistmo – 7,771 points, Savings Bank – 7,721 points, Nestlé – 7,642 points, Riba Smith Supermarkets – 7,618 points

These results were calculated from the analysis of more than 9,808 surveys, with data collected from 19 sources of information and from 6 perspectives.

Raquel Robleda, director of Merco in Panama, highlighted the importance of measuring these criteria, stating that there is a direct correlation between the ESG activity of companies and the value of their shares. In Spain, for example, an increase of 1,000 points in the Merco ESG ranking had a positive impact of €3.12 per share on the stock market.


 

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