By Elisa Vasquez Panama, Jun 15 (EFE).- In Panama, "the first to disrespect nature are the officials appointed to defend it," according to Ligia Arreaga, an environmentalist engaged in activism for a decade on behalf of the rainforest of Darien that spreads across Panama's border with Colombia. The Central American country has "extraordinarily good" laws, what is lacking are decent officials...

David, Panama, May 21 (EFE).- Panamanian authorities have stopped selling tickets for Mexico-bound flights to transfer nearly 4,000 Cubans stranded in the Central American country since last December, an immigration official told EFE. Dozens of Cubans trying to make their way to the United States have been waiting in line in this western city, capital of Chiriqui province, to purchase the $575 ...

Police officers stand guard next to a company list showing the Mossack Fonseca law firm outside their office in Panama City April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso Montevideo, May 20 (EFE).- The Panama Papers are "the tip of the iceberg" with respect to offshore companies, according to Panamanian financial expert Julio Aguirre, who said Friday that the massive leak of Mossack Fonseca's documents ...

Members of the media stand outside the Mossack Fonseca law firm office in Panama City April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso PANAMA CITY - Following a raid of its offices late Tuesday by Panamanian authorities, the Mossack Fonseca law firm said Wednesday that it is "ready, willing and eager" to collaborate with the Panamanian Attorney General's Office, which is investigating the murky dealings d...

A police officer stands guard outside the Mossack Fonseca law firm office in Panama City April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama's attorney general late on Tuesday raided the offices of the Mossack Fonseca law firm to search for any evidence of illegal activities, authorities said in a statement. The Panama-based law firm is at the centre of the "Panama Papers" l...

Transparency International This official statement by Transparency International was issued in the wake of the Panama Papers affair. Gonzalo Delaveau Swett, Chair of the Transparency International chapter in Chile, resigned from his postafter being linked to the Panama Papers, and thus presumably involved in the shadowy world of hiding money in secretive offshore accounts: “We are deeply tr...

Source: Alfredo Guzman Twitter Mexico City, Apr 4 (EFE).- A Mexican government contractor, a former CEO of state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, and an associate of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman are some of the individuals whose names appear in the Panama Papers. Mexican media outlets Aristegui Noticias and Proceso magazine, part of the International ...

The tents of Cuban migrant refugees are seen at a border post with Panama in Paso Canoas, Costa Rica, earlier in December Photo: Reuters OMX Just days since Panama and Costa Rica declared that the airlift of thousands of Cuban migrants that had been stranded in both countries en route to the United States had been completed, ostensibly putting an end to the Cuban migrant crisis that saw some 8...

Panama Canal Panama City, Mar 1 (EFE).- GUPC, the consortium building the new Panama Canal locks, said that in the next two months it would conduct more than 2,000 trials in the Pacific and Caribbean sectors of the expanded waterway, focusing on gates, valves, electric power and control systems. Some systems are already being operated from the control towers and the buildings where machines...

U.S. DOJ Press Release - SAN DIEGO - Over four years after the disappearance and death of Yvonne Baldelli, Brian Karl Brimager pleaded guilty in federal court today to her murder, admitting that he fatally stabbed Baldelli in the back with a knife, dismembered her body with a machete and disposed of her remains in a remote jungle on the Panamanian island where they lived as a couple for two months...

David, Panama, Feb 21 (EFE).- More than 100 Cuban migrants from among the 1,300 stranded in Panama on Sunday received immigration permits that early next week will allow them to travel legally to Mexico, where they will be able to continue their land journey to the United States. The deputy commissioner of the Panamanian Immigration Service, David Rios Duran, told EFE that 145 people are being ...

Panama Canal Panama City, Feb 13 (EFE).- The Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, said a successful test was conducted on a section of the new third set of locks where cracks were discovered last year. The test by the GUPC consortium responsible for the new locks, led by Spanish construction group Sacyr Vallehermoso, consisted of gradually raising the water behind Gate No. 6 of the Cocoli locks ...

Source: Maxam By Maria M. Mur Panama City, Feb 4 (EFE).- The 3,500 blasts that Spain-based multinational Maxam has detonated as part of the Panama Canal's expansion have been one of the biggest technological challenges for the firm, a leader in staged explosions in mining and public works projects. "It has been a very important technological challenge for us," Maxam international relatio...

TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - February 01, 2016) - Scotiabank announced today that it has acquired Citigroup's consumer and commercial banking operations in Costa Rica and Panama. The signing of these acquisitions was announced in July 2015 and the transactions are valued at approximately USD$360 million. "These acquisitions align with our strategy to deepen relationships and inc...

East Africa Drought of 2011. Wikimedia Commons By Maria M. Mur Los Santos, Panama, Jan 28 (EFE).- A stretch of the Mensabe River near the village of Peñablanca was a popular swimming spot for Panamanian families just one year ago, but a devastating drought has changed the situation dramatically and transformed that waterway into a rocky path to nowhere. Like the Guarare and the Perales, ...

Panama Canal Panama City, Jan 25 (EFE).- The Panama Canal is operating normally and was not affected by the sinking of a Venezuelan-flagged cargo ship that collided with another vessel at the Caribbean entrance to the interoceanic waterway, administrators said Monday. "The sinking of this vessel is not affecting the operations or traffic in the aquatic waterway," said the Panama Canal Autho...

Panama Canal Panama City, Jan 9 (EFE).- The consortium responsible for the main Panama Canal expansion project is the subject of a criminal complaint in the Central American country for allegedly inflating its cost overrun claims. National Bar Association Vice President Juan Carlos Arauz filed the complaint, to which EFE gained access, on Thursday with Panama's Attorney General's Office. ...

Panama Canal Panama City, Jan 2 (EFE).- President Juan Carlos Varela said Saturday that the inauguration of a newly expanded Panama Canal would take place in May in the presence of several heads of state and government, while also calling on the consortium responsible for the third-locks project to stop waging a media battle with his government. "Sometime in May 2016, our country will once ...

Source: Red Cross of Costa Rica Paso Canoas, Panama, Dec 25 (EFE).- Some 800 Cubans spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on the streets or in shelters at the Panamanian-Costa Rican border, not at their final destination as they had hoped. "I thought I'd spend Christmas in the United States with my family," said Sarai Santos, who spent the night of Dec. 24 with friends from her hometown of ...

Panama Canal Panama City, Dec 23 (EFE).- The inauguration of the Panama Canal expansion will be delayed for six months if the ACP, the public entity administering the interocean waterway, does not make more flexible its bureaucratic and payment procedures, Giuseppe Quarta, the director of GUPC, the consortium that is handling the project, said Wednesday. "We ... (can) deliver the project" b...

Panama Canal Panama City, Dec 18 (EFE).- The inauguration of an expanded Panama Canal, previously scheduled for April, will be postponed due to cracks detected in the new set of locks that are the centerpiece of the $5.25 billion overhaul, the interoceanic waterway's chief administrator said Friday. Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, head Jorge Quijano said the agency was still planning for th...

By Emilio J. Lopez Miami, Dec 8 (EFE).- Cuban immigration to the United States grew by almost 80 percent in 2015 out of fear that the thaw in relations between Washington and Havana might at any time put an end to the advantages Cubans currently enjoy the minute they set foot on U.S. territory. Since Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced to the world on Dec. 17, 2014, their determination to...

Star Breeze Seattle, WA (PRWEB) December 04, 2015 - Today, Windstar Cruises announces a new program for guests traveling on Costa Rica & Panama Canal itineraries. The Canal Celebration, a deckside festival, invites guests to experience the sights and sounds of the Panama Canal while enjoying amenities and activities that highlight the Panamanian culture. New for 2015/16, Windstar guests...

Panama Canal Panama Canal, Nov 17 (EFE).- Experts attending a three-day International Trademark Association meeting that kicked off here Tuesday will discuss ways to combat the transit of counterfeit goods through the Panama Canal. The Leadership Meeting is "an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges of combating counterfeiting and to advocate for measures to halt the transshipm...

Source: Miss Mexico Facebook Mexico City, Oct 29 (EFE).- Wendolly Esparza, winner of the beauty contest title Nuestra Belleza Mexico in 2014, says she has "prepared arduously" to win the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant, a contest in which she is eager to compete now that Mexico is back in it following real estate magnate Donald Trump's departure from the show. "I have prepared arduously for this...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Sep 24 (EFE).- Mexican authorities' "reckless handling" of the investigation into the disappearance of 43 teacher trainees a year ago exposes "a scandalous cover-up orchestrated by the highest levels of government," London-based human rights group Amnesty International said. In a statement Wednesday, AI's Americas director, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said the case h...

ANAHEIM, CALIF., Aug. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Discover a different pace of life ripe for exploring and relaxing in Panama, or be fascinated by Costa Rica's nearly half-million wildlife species making their home in one of the world's most biodiverse countries on a hassle-free vacation with Trafalgar. A brag-worthy trip is now even more affordable with savings of up to $350 per couple* on air-i...

Panama City, Aug 8 (EFE).- The Panama Canal said it will lower the maximum allowable draft of ships passing through the inter-oceanic waterway starting Sept. 8 due to an El Niño-triggered drought. The measure will affect 18.5 percent of the ships that travel through the canal, according to the Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, which said it will not significantly affect "the efficiency and capaci...

Source. Go Fund Me A man from British Columbia was shot and killed during a home invasion gone wrong in Boquete, a community near the border with Costa Rica. According to Jon Azpiri, a journalist for Canadian online publication Global News, Mr. Potrebenko was 53 years old when he lost his life as he protected his wife and mother-in-law when three masked men broke into his home a week ago. A...

Story by Lt.j.g. Victoria Einbinder, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. Fourth Fleet MAYPORT, Fla. - More than 75 military personnel, including 54 members of partner-nation navies, assembled July 27 on Naval Station Mayport for PANAMAX 2015, an exercise aimed at developing strong working relationships between multinational forces to ensure the defense of the Panama Canal. The exer...

Wikimedia Commons Panama, 03-JULY-2013 (WireService.co)– 2Bet Bob is pleased to announce that their headquarters have been moved to the country of Panama, due to unexpected red tape in Costa Rica. This move will not affect the excellent customer service which is a feature of the betting site. The pay per head feature allows the company to provide 24-hour betting every day. 2Bet Bob uses the PP...

Wikimedia Commons Panama City, Jun 18 (EFE).- Foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled $1.7 billion in Panama in the first quarter, up 32.2 percent from the same period in 2014, the National Institute of Statistics and Census, or INEC, reported. Foreign capital flowed mainly into hotels, banks, real estate, electricity generation, commerce and manufacturing, the INEC said. Some 65 percent...

Panama City, Jun 8 (EFE).- Emergency management services in Panama found two French tourists alive on Sunday in the western jungle of Bocas del Toro after they were given up for lost the day before, an official said. A spokesperson for the Sinaproc emergency management agency told reporters that the Frenchmen Elliot Nakache and Herve Dupied, who were on a hiking expedition, were found Monday mo...

Source: UNHCR Costa Rica, May 26, International Organization for Migration - To help vulnerable migrants at the Paso Canoas border crossing between Panama and Costa Rica, IOM and the authorities of both countries have opened two specialized information hubs that will provide migrants with reliable information about their rights and services available to them. “These assistance hubs will add...

Aedes aegypti mosquito, known dengue carrier. By Fabio Agrana Panama City, May 9 (EFE).- Panama's Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health, or ICGES, found in a recent study that genetically modified mosquitoes can be used to combat dengue with a high degree of effectiveness, scientists involved in the project said. The director of the ICGES study, Lorenzo Caceres, told Efe that in a period ...

Source: UNHCR SABALITO, Costa Rica, May 7 (UNHCR) – Elida Andrade has lived in the green hills around the small southern Costa Rican town of Sabalito for her whole life, but until recently the 18-year-old mother never really belonged anywhere. Her parents, members of the indigenous Ngöbe Bugle people, were born across the nearby border in Chiriqui, Panama, and moved to the coffee-growing Sa...

Source: Tri-Hard (TRAVPR.COM) USA - April 28th, 2015 - Unlimited Vacation Club (UVC) by AMResorts continues its rapid expansion with the recent news that it will open eight new properties in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean over the next three years. Upon completion, these latest additions will bring the total of UVC hotels to 45 with a combined 17,087 rooms in 23 destinations across Me...

Source: Wikimedia Commons WASHINGTON (DOJ) —Brian Karl Brimager, 37, prior boyfriend of murdered Los Angeles woman Yvonne Baldelli, was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Diego, California, today on first degree murder charges. Brimager was arraigned in court on the superseding indictment and pleaded not guilty. Brimager has been in U.S. custody since June 2013 on charges of obstructio...

Source: Flickr Commons Security is a major concern for the million-plus international visitors who arrive in Costa Rica every year as well as for the hundreds of thousands of expatriates who have chosen this country as their new home. This being the case, tourists and expats will probably be surprised to learn that the 2013 Gallup Law and Order Index puts Nicaragua and Panama as the safest nat...

Source: Revista Paquidermo Creative Commons On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal, a special situation was being scrutinized by intelligence and special operations analysts at the secretive United States Combined Air and Space Operations Center located within Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Master Sergeant Kelly Ogden wrote the following account for the U.S. Defense ...