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In an unrelated set of events, one of Boquete's most senior expat residents provided some interesting historical information about the Isla Ventana area, which is the area depicted in our masthead photo that was posted in the summer of 2016. I refer to Price Peterson.
With his permission, I am quoting some comments from a recent email received from Price.
QuoteDear Bud,
Just took a close look at your opening CL photo of a view looking toward Ventanas. The house on the shore used to belong to the Tribaldos family and years ago our family enjoyed several lazy weekends there with Eddy, Marcella, and family. Curiously, the catamaran in the foreground is almost exactly where our 30' sloop, M'Lady, was anchored. At 5 am, Dec. 21, 1989, a local yokel of the Battallion de Dignidad and his son rowed out to the only Gringo target for miles, and lobbed two hand grenades into the hull. Sank like the proverbial rock. This was the action in Boca Chica the morning of 'Just Cause'. The next time you are in Boca Chica, if you look around, you will find a TV antenna mounted on a tall aluminum pole. That was our mast, and the rest still lies beneath the catamaran.
Also worth noting that the wad-able waters around Ventanas used to have some great oysters.
Parenthetically, for those who might be interested in more information about Operation Just Cause, here is a link to the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama. There is no reference that I could find to M'Lady in this Wikipedia article, but it does mention the "Dignity Battalions".
Thank you to Price for sharing this piece of history.
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25 minutes ago, Doug and Jo said:
The announcement yesterday in a joint presentation by Irma and Dr Diaz at the Tuesday Talk is that Keep it Simple Panama's health advocate service will be part of the Boquete Medical Associates membership plan. Dr. Diaz did use the term "merger", but it became clear that she didn't mean that in any legal sense. Instead, KISP and BMA will share medical files on patients needing medical care or Services in David, set up appointments with specialists, procure ambulances, and obtain discounts beyond Jubilado at hospitals and clinics.
Their goal is to provide health care for residents in Boquete as much as possible, but to get the best services in David at the best price for those matters that must be treated in that city. It is important to note that you don't have to have a membership with Boquete Medical Associates to be treated at Alfa Clinic or to use the services of KISP. But the membership plan does combine those services along with various discounts on Doctor appointments, dental cleanings, email consultations, death certificates, and various other benefits.
Great job here Doug and Jo. You are helping us (and others) to understand where this KISP and BMA thing is going.
Thank you.
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Moderator comment: This topic discusses coffee varietals in and from Costa Rica. Informal conversations with local coffee growers leads us to believe that some Boquete coffee growers are considering these two varieties. Further, we were led to believe that there are two coffee varieties from Colombia that are also being looked at closely. The trailing comments from those informal conversations were to the effect that local specialty coffee growers likely will not use these bug resistant varietals because the resulting coffee is "not competition quality".
QuoteCoffee: New Variety Resistant to Rust
The new variety of Catiguá MG2 coffee that was released in Costa Rica after several pieces of analysis were carried out, is up to 60% higher in productivity compared to the Catuaí variety.
Monday, December 11, 2017
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Coffee Institute:
In an investigation that began seven years ago at the experimental farm in Barva de Heredia, the Genetic Improvement Program of the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica, ICAFE, managed to determine the excellent quality of the final product, high resistance to rust and the high productive potential of the Catiguá MG2 variety, one of the eighteen varieties that the Institute has for study and comparison.
See also: "Figures on Crops in Central America"
The official announcement of the release of the variety took place during the Forty Sixth National Ordinary Coffee Congress, held this Sunday, December 3 at the ICAFE facilities in San Pedro de Barva de Heredia.
Read full release (in Spanish).https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Coffee_New_Variety_Resistant_to_Rust
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Direct city contract in 400% inflation probe
contract canceledPost Views: 113A company under investigation in Spain for inflating the cost of training programs in four Panama provinces by 400%, got three direct consulting contracts during the current Panama City administration.Alain Anguizola, training coordinator of Central Supply Markets, S.A., (Mercasa) claims the company complied with all contracts
Panama Mayor, José Isabel Blandón, said Monday, December 11 that one of the contracts related to the design of a peripheral market in Juan Díaz, is in the process of cancellation for “breach of contract”.
Anguizola counterclaimed that this is “totally false, reports La Prensa.
Anguizola is mentioned by Spanish media as the person involved in Panama in the cost overruns, but noted that he did not negotiate contracts, nor is in charge of the financial part.
Blandón, disassociated himself from any anomaly related to the investigation carried out in Spain against representatives of the Mercasa).
The Spanish state company is being investigated for the alleged systematic payment of commissions in Africa and Latin America in exchange for contracts related to consultancies. Including cost overruns in training project for traders of the Cold Chain in Panama during the last government.
In the case of Blandón said that during three contracts operating during his term were given by a different administration.
He said that of the three contracts that the Municipality with Mercasa, one that was related to the consulting service, writing of the project of reform, expansion and modernization of the San Felipe Neri market, for $290 000, and another regarding a study service for the strategic location of future peripheral city markets for $290,000.He said that both projects were completed.
A $212,000 thousand, contract for the design of a peripheral market in Juan Diaz, was canceled due to non-compliance. Despite what was said by Blandón, data from Panama Compra and the Comptroller General show that the first two contracts were canceled says La Prensa.
Referring to trips by the Mayor’s staff, Blandon said that although they were invited by Mercasa, “I do not let companies pay for tickets for officials of the Mayor’s Office “.
He added: “It is being suggested that there was something wrong with the contracts of the City Hall when it’s not like that. ”
The investigations in Spain link the former president of the Community of Madrid Ignacio González, and his brother, Pablo González, former Director of Strategy and Operations of the Mercasa company, with the alleged systematic payment of commissions from the company.
In Panama, Mercasa obtained multi-million dollar contracts between 2010 and 2016. One of the last officials of the Municipality to travel to Spain was the general secretary, Guillermo Bermúdez: “We hired them directly because they already had studies and were in Panama. It was a Spanish public company and it never crossed our minds that there was some act of corruption” he said.
Anguizola, said that what Mayor Blandón said about the design project of the Juan Díaz market was “false”
He acknowledged that auditors of the Office of the Comptroller General (CGR) inspected the Mercasa offices in Panama and they were provided with all the information related to the training contract for merchants of the Cold Chain.
CGR auditors also went to the offices of the Chain to obtain information
Roque Maldonado, the manager of the Chain said there is an ongoing investigation in the Public Prosecutor’s Office and they have collaborated with all requests for information.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/direct-city-contract-400-inflation-probe
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Moderator comment: This topic could be placed in any of several different forums. We have opted to place it here in the Public Transportation forum, given that there are no formal charges of corruption, etc. If any CL members have strong feelings about the placement of this topic, please let @Moderator_02 know via PM.
QuoteTransparency Int demands airport boss exit
Carlos DuboyPost Views: 93Carlos Duboy, the director of Tocumen, S.A. the company that runs Panama’s international airport has an “obvious conflict of interest.” and should resign says Transparency International (TI) following revelations of political donations from Odebrecht which is building the airport’s second terminal.“He cannot continue in office, it’s not that the law obligates him, but an ethical issue makes it imperative that he do it “, said Lina Vega Abad, president of the Foundation for Development of Citizen Liberty, Panamanian chapter of TI.
Duboy, who is treasurer of the ruling Panameñista Party, in an interview with La Prensa, on Monday, December 11 admitted that in 2008, when he served as sub-treasurer he knocked on the company’s doors for donations to the campaign of Juan Carlos Varela, and they made two: one for $50,000 and another for $100,000, money received by Strategic Management Group, his family company.
Vega Abad said that since the name of Duboy came out in the first revelations made by Jaime Lasso, former Ambassador of Panama in South Korea, about other Odebrecht donations.
She said that one of the most serious issues to be corrected in the country is the conflicts of interests.
“And the Duboy case is a perfect example because it’s totally unheard of for a person who was coming out for the donations, as the contact between the party and Odebrecht, followed managing a project that Odebrecht was carrying out at the airport.”
Step back
She added that at that moment what Duboy had to do was “take a step back and leave the administration to another person. Now the situation is more serious because he is saying that his relationship comes from further back…to the party primaries for the 2009 elections. And obviously he cannot stay there, he cannot continue in that position. ”According to a report from the Judicial Investigation Directorate, Odebrecht gave $10 million to the former Ambassador Jaime Lasso, between 2009 and 2014, funds that would have gone to the Panameñista Party.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/transparency-int-demands-airport-boss-exit
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Moderator comment: Reference in the below news article to scandals involving Financial Pacific and the Caja de Ahorros savings association are subjects of other topics located in this same forum. If you are interested in reading more about them, then we recommend doing a search on this corruption forum using either term as a search argument.
QuoteMultiple suspect gets fresh court delay
Felipe Pipo VirziPost Views: 78Former Panama vice-president, Felipe Pipo Virzi, facing criminal charges in multiple cases once again wriggled free of his day in court on Tuesday, December 12 when The Eighteenth Criminal Court suspended a preliminary hearing, involving 12 people.The process cover s the loan granted by the Caja de Ahorros State Savings Bank (CA) for the alleged construction of an Amador convention center.
It was adjourned because a writ of habeas corpus presented by Virzi is pending response. After being photographed in pyjamas in company with other Ricardo Martinelli insiders in the grounds of El Renacer prison, Virzi’s latest lawyer managed to talk a judge into releasing him from preventive detention. It was the second time he got the key to the door. Previously when moved to house arrest he was charged with another offense involving a real estate transaction.
Tuesday’s hearing was rescheduled for January 16.
In this case, the Public Ministry is investigating alleged money laundering in the granting of the $9 million loan to the HPC-Contratas P & V consortium.
The loan was to be used in the construction of the Convention Center, tendered by the last government, but the monies were diverted to accounts in the Financial Pacific (FP) brokerage, now liquidated.
Virzi and 11 other people are charged including the general and assistant managers, the board of directors of the CA chaired by Riccardo Francolini in the five-year period 2009-2014-; the founders of FP -West Valdés and Iván Clare-, and the merchant Ricardo Ricki Calvo, among others.
In November, the lawyers of Virzi, Valentín Mora and Alfredo Vallarino, filed habeas corpus in favor of their clients- detained in El Renacer.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/multiple-suspect-gets-fresh-court-delay
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Panama’s jet setter top judge away again
International cooperationPost Views: 115PANAMA’S jet-setting chief justice José Ayú Prado, who between trips abroad manages to find time to complain about the increasing number of delayed court cases is off to Spain again.Spain, this time as a guest at the inauguration of the Attorney General of Spain, Julián Sánchez Melgar, according to the Justice Department.
The act of taking the post was held in the Hearing Room of the Supreme Court of Spain. “President José Ayú Prado reinforced the communication links and cooperation with the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Kingdom of Spain with the Judicial Branch and the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama, and the name of the Judicial Council of Central America and the Caribbean, acting as president pro tempore, “said the Judicial Organ.
The chief justice as seen by La Prensa cartoonist
In October Prado was in the Principality of Asturias, where he participated in the Ibero-American Conference on Judicial Ethics, as part of the Ibero-American Judicial Summit.
Ayú Prado has defended the trips of the magistrates with the argument that they promote international cooperation and staff training.
In July 2015, the Citizens Alliance for Justice filed a complaint with the Assembly to Investigate the trips of magistrates.
In January this year, the organization requested a new investigation on travel and per diem of de Ayú Prado and the judges Hernán De León and Luis Ramón Fábrega, presidents of the Civil Chamber and Administrative Litigation, respectively.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panamas-jet-setter-top-judge-away
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President Varela’s “historical responsibility”
Post Views: 210President Juan Carlos Varela has the “historical” responsibility to correct what has been twisted under previous administrations and take a transcendental step in the struggle against corruption and impunity.The statement came from Panama’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAP) on Sunday. December 12 and was related to the upcoming designation of two new Supreme Court judges.
The CCIAP also said in a press release, that the decision to postpone extraordinary sessions of the National Assembly until the second half of December to deal with the important issue seems wrong.
“It requires sufficient time for analysis, and it should not be presumed that the National Assembly is going to simply to put the seal of approval to the candidates that are presented.
“The Legislative Body has the obligation to fulfill its function with strict adherence to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution; likewise, those who arrive at the position will be before the opportunity to honor such privilege with a performance that will bring them respect and gratitude,” says the communique.
President Varela must appoint the replacements of Judge Oydén Ortega and Jerónimo Mejía, whose terms expire December 31. Ortega and Mejía were appointed in 2007 by the then president Martin Torrijos for a period of 10 years.
The appointment of the replacement of jailed Alejandro Moncada Luna is pending.
He was convicted by the Assembly in March 2015 for unjustified enrichment and falsification of documents.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/president-varelas-historical-responsibility
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Panama – Money versus Justice
Kenia PorcellPost Views: 247Panama has become a country where the morality battle is between money and justice said Panama’s Attorney General on Saturday, December 2 the World Day Against Corruption.Kenia Porcell has been attacked by some civil society groups and politicians for alleged tardiness reiterated the judicial body’s commitment to “combat corruption which she described as the “most dirty and mean act in the range of crimes. that affect our society”
“Let’s all unite as a country against corruption. Here we have more good and honest people than those who break the law and ethics, she said in one of the messages on the social network.
Panama is experiencing years of convulsion over the uncovering of dozens of alleged cases of corruption involving ex-employees, businessmen and individuals. The majority of those implicated are former government officials of ex- President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), many of them also linked to the Odebrecht bribery case, who mostly deny the accusations and denounce the investigation as political persecution on the part of the current president, Juan Carlos Varela says El Siglo.
Martinelli has been detained since June in a federal jail in Miami (USA), in an extradition process for a case of illegal wiretapping, one of about a dozen criminal cases opened against him by the Supreme Court of Panama.
“The fight that takes place in the prosecution of crime, its perpetrators and participants is metaphorically turning into the struggle of money versus justice,” said another message
Porcell has defended her impartiality and has asked for public patience with the argument that the times of justice are not the times of the media, which constantly report on the basis of leaks about high profile corruption cases.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-money-vs-justice-says-ag
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Panama: A Train to the Costa Rican Border
The Chinese government has confirmed that it will finance a feasibility study to build a freight and passenger train connecting the Panamanian capital with the border of Costa Rica.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Through the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, financing will be provided for analysis on the feasibility, benefits, main technical parameters, estimated investment, risk factors, and other components for a railway system that will connect the provinces of Panama and Chiriqui.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
December 7, 2017.- The People's Republic of China has confirmed today that it will finance a feasibility study for a freight and passenger train connecting the Panamanian capital with the border with Costa Rica, following an agreement signed between the Chinese Minister of Commerce, Zhong Shan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge, Luis Miguel Hincapié, in a ceremony where the President of the Republic of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, participated as a witness of honor.
Through the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, financing will be provided for analysis on the feasibility, benefits, main technical parameters, estimated investment, risk factors, and other components for a railway system that will connect the provinces of Panama and Chiriqui.
"We want to take advantage of the experience and technological development of Chinese companies in rail transport systems," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Miguel Hincapié, adding that the project "is part of the initiative of the Strip and the Route, which encourages global cooperation and supports the development of the countries that are part of it".https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_A_Train_to_the_Costa_Rican_Border
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Copa brings Colorado holidays closer
Post Views: 205COPA AIRLINES has moved 26 ski and summer resorts closer to Panama with the introduction of direct flights to Denver. Colorado.
The Panamanian company which has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2012 and is considered the most punctual airline in Latin America, inaugurated the direct connection between Panama and Denver, capital of the state of Colorado and one of the most important ski destinations in the United States on Monday, December 11.
“For Copa Airlines it is a source of pride to start new flights to the attractive city of Denver, which today becomes the thirteenth city we serve in the United States,” said the company’s chief executive, Pedro Heilbron.
Flight CM 476 will operate initially with four weekly frequencies (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) departing at 11.50 a.m. local time (16.50 GMT) from Tocumen International Airport, in Panama, and arriving at 4.16 p.m. local time (9.16 GMT) at Denver, the airline said.
Panama’s Tourism Director, Gustavo Him, was on hand to point out some return benefits. “Each direct flight represents more arrival of tourists and economic movement that permeates the entire sector: hotels, restaurants, transportation and tour operators, among others,” he said.
Copa flies to 75 cities in some thirty countries on the continent.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/world-4/copa-brings-colorado-holidays-closer
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Ex tribunal judge joins appeal against Odebrecht ruling
Post Views: 132Lawyer and former Electoral Tribunal (TE), judge Guillermo Márquez Amado, presented an appeal on Monday, December 11 for third-party involvement before the Second Superior Court to support the request of the Public Ministry (MP) asking for an extension to continue investigations in the Odebrecht bribery case.The appeal, seeks to revoke the decision of Substitute judge Lania Batista, who as Twelfth Criminal substitute judge denied an adjustment at the end of the investigation for the bribes The Anti-corruption prosecutor, Zuleyka Moore, appealed the ruling.
“We are making use of our status as citizens to support the claim of the Prosecutor, to continue investigating without a two-month time limit.” said Marquez Amado on behalf of civil groups. Monday .”
The investigation into the Odebrecht bribery scandal is currently suspended, pending the response of the Second Superior Court.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/ex-tribunal-judge-joins-appeal-odebrecht-ruling
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Two dead, seven hurt in highway incidents
TWO PEOPLE were killed and seven injured when a bus collided with a sedan in Bocas Del Toro on Saturday, December 9.The bus was on its way from David to Changuinola David when the accident happened on the Almirante-Chiriquí Grande highway, in the Nuevo Paraíso, Almirante district, of Bocas del Toro.
The dead victims were in the sedan and the seven injured were passengers in the bus They are reported to be out of danger.
Later in the day an 87-year old woman was hit and killed by a speeding car on the Pan-American Highway in Capira. She died instantly and her body was thrown 65 meters reports El Siglo
The deaths bring the highway death toll this year to over 380, and with the upcoming holiday season will likely pass the 400 mark. Seve people have died on Panama roads this week.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/three-dead-seven-hurt-highway-incidents
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Falling trees kill two, 50 homes damaged
Post Views: 97TWO PEOPLE were killed and nearly a score of homes damaged by falling trees brought down by strong winds and heavy rains in Bocas del Toro on Saturday, December 9.The Cricamola River in the district of Kankintú, in the Ngäbe Buglé district, overflowed its banks on Sunday and left some 14 homes affected in the Bisira communities # 1 and # 2, while heavy rains in the afternoon hours damaged over 50 homes in Bocas del Toro reports the National Civil Protection Service (Sinaproc).
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/falling-trees-kill-two-50-homes-damaged
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FBI helps impugn Martinelli brother in law
Aaron MizrachiPost Views: 205AARON MIZRACHI brother in law of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, already facing charges in multiple investigations by anticorruption prosecutors has been named a key player in the investigation of the alleged payment of bribes for the contract for a $14.5 million computer program for the Social Security Service, from the German company SAP.The Second Superior Court has revoked a judgment of the Thirteenth Criminal Court and declared the continuing investigation of Mizrachi for the crime of influence peddling is valid.
FBI agent Stuart Andrew Robinson, who has been working undercover, declared to the Sixth Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office that Mizrachi “was the entrance to the deal” so that the contract was achieved.
He said that in February 2010 Mizrachi met with Vicente García, former vice president of SAP 9and now jailed), who confessed before the US justice that he paid bribes in Panama for the contract.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/fbi-helps-impugn-martinelli-brother-law
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Historic Institute will become museum
Post Views: 94SCIENTISTS at Panama’s renowned Gorgas Memorial Institute (ICEGS) have been pressing for new facilities since the start of the century but will have to wait at least five more years before their new $189 million headquarters is readyThe first step was taken on November 17, when a contract was awarded for the design, and development of plans and the analysis of costs for the first building.
The project was awarded to the Samudio Page CM Consortium, at a cost of $3 million.
The company will have nine months to develop this stage reports La Prensa.
Néstor Sosa, director of Icges, said that it includes the building of research and diagnosis laboratories and of biosecurity, a security checkpoint, and parking areas, reports La Prensa.
In the first building it is planned to relocate about 30% of the Icges staff, from the departments of Virology, Genomics and Parasitology He said that the order to proceed with the preparation of the study, design and development of plans must be delivered this month, so they are ready by 2018 and start construction at the latest at the beginning of 2019.
The financing of this first phase of the new headquarters of the Gorgas Institute will be through a $70 million loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, which was recently endorsed by the Government.
The original structure of Icges, located since 1928 on Avenida Justo Arosemena, and declared a national historic site in September, is too small to provide adequate space for its 500 staff, including scientists and administrators
Gorgas senior researcher José Calzada said that, although it is a property with great historical value the facilities “are no longer appropriate for research,” and researchers are spread over three buildings of the Santo Tomás Hospital.
Juan Miguel Pascale, deputy director of the institute, said that this year $200,000 has been budgeted for the adaptation and conservation of the original building, where it is planned to create a museum which will include The Icges zoological collection and a museum of tropical medicine
Tthe new headquarters will be on a 6.5-hectare plot, in Chivo Chivo, close to the City of Health, in Ancón. “ Campus Gorgas”, will have six buildings, and a value of around $189 million.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/historic-institute-will-become-museum
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4.8 earthquake east of Panama City
Post Views: 259AN EARTHQUAKE measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale took place east of Panama City at approximately 1 on Saturday, December 9. at approximately 10,30 a. m. Later The University of Panama confirmed the quake’s epicenter was 208 kilometers northwest of the municipality of Acandí, Chocó.The Emergency Operations Center of the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), confirmed that no incidents were reported after the quake.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/4-8-earthquake-east-panama-city
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Martyrs’ Day marks Martinelli Habeas Corpus Hearing
Post Views: 94THE FULFILMENT of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli’s boast/halucination that he will return to Panama in triumph and that the party he founded, funded and ruled will be returned to power, will be tested on January 9 in a Miami courtroom when Judge Marcia Cooke hears his habeas corpus presented before the Court of the Southern District of Florida.January 9, is known in Panama as “Martyrs’ Day” and marks the events of 1964 when 28 people died during riots against the American occupation of the Canal Zone. It is now recognized as a day of national mourning,
The Martinelli hearing will be at 2:00 p.m. in federal building Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr., in Miami, where he has been behind bars since June 12 awaiting to be extradited to Panama, where the Supreme Court wants to try him for the unauthorized interception of Communications from the National Security Council attached to the Presidency during the last two years of his term (2012-2014).
The habeas corpus was presented on September 28 after another federal judge – Edwin Torres- endorsed the return of Martinelli to Panama, considering that there are “reasonable grounds” to suppose him guilty “of all or some of the crimes imputed to him, “given the wealth of evidence provided by the Supreme Court of Justice in the extradition request.
On October 2, the US Supreme Court denied a habeas corpus to Martinelli and had previously, rejected a request for bail.
Far from the luxury of his Coral Gables Mansion
He will have been confined to his cell for nearly seven months when he gets to hear whether he can plan for the triumphal return, or to hold court in El Renacer prison with other accused members of his previous administration. while waiting for trial with a potential sentence of up to 20 years.
Some of a shrinking band of CD loyalists will see him as a martyr to “political persecution.”
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Panama: Climate change could force out entire island indigenous community
Rising sea levels due to climate change are forcing one of Panama’s most well-known indigenous groups to draw up plans to relocate from their autonomous island territories to the mainland.
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One of the hundreds of islands making up the Guna Yala archipelago in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Panama. Rising sea levels attributed to climate change are forcing the islands’ indigenous communities to make plans for their evacuation to mainland Panama. Photo courtesy of El País. The first few days of September have seen a UN-sponsored Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) take place in Samoa, with a focus on developing a global strategy for aiding small island nations which are set to find their very existence threatened by sea-level rise as a result of climate change. Much of the emphasis in this strategy is on publicising the plight of these island nations which, despite having historically made minimal contributions to global emissions of greenhouse gases, are likely to find themselves in the firing line as climate change begins to wreak havoc across the globe.
And yet, on the other side of the Pacific in a country that isn’t even a member of SIDS, the apparently ‘future’ prospect of entire communities being forcibly displaced as the sea swallows up their territory is, in fact, already a reality. For thousands of indigenous Guna people living in an archipelago of some 360 islands, known as Guna Yala and situated off the Caribbean coast of Panama, climate change is a very current hazard as rising sea levels begin to hammer away at the islands’ shores, flooding settlements and the precious little arable land on offer. The phenomenon has led to a major operation being drawn up to relocate, bit by bit, the 30,000 or so Guna back to the Panamanian mainland from which they moved over 150 years ago.
Whatever the overall extent of the evacuation, it now seems almost inevitable that, at the very least, considerable contingents of the Guna Yala community will be forced to relocate, which observers have pointed out would be one of the first instances in the world of rising sea levels caused by man-made climate change forcing inhabitants of islands or coastal areas to be evacuated. They would be joining communities from Pacific nations such as Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati who have already become ‘climate refugees’, with some experts warning they could be joined by millions more from around the world by the end of the century if climate change continues to melt the polar ice caps and lead to higher sea levels.
Guna children steer a canoe round an island in Guna Yala. Photo courtesy of Reuters / Alberto Lowe. This fate is one that seems to have been accepted by many of the 2,000 or so inhabitants of Gartí Sugdup, one of the biggest islands in the archipelago that can also go by the name of San Blas, and a plan of action has been in motion for some years now. Community members have begun to clear rainforest within a 300,000 hectare area of forested foothills near the Caribbean coastline in the eastern part of mainland Panama, where they will be able to maintain the special administrative autonomy they currently enjoy over their island territory. They are receiving limited on-the-ground support from the Panamanian government, which has nonetheless given its backing to the Guna’s relocation plans and pledged to fulfil its constitutional duties of providing services such as health, education, and infrastructure once the mainland community has begun to settle properly.
The Guna people are dotted around 50 or so of the archipelago’s largest islands, some of which have been ‘built up’ by mining coral from the surrounding reefs. As well as benefitting from limited tourism that brings some of the more adventurous travellers to their islands, the Guna are largely dependent on fishing and agriculture for their cultural and economic survival, but this is increasingly under threat as their land has been interrupted by periodic ocean swells and abnormally high tides. While flooding and inundation is not unheard of in the area – some of the smaller islets in particular come and go as sand banks are shifted over time – the inhabitants of Guna Yala have noted a definite increase in the number and severity of such incidents in recent years, as well as the fact that these events have started to happen outside the usual ‘season’ of November to April.
“Our people, who have lived their entire lives in the sea, don’t want to leave the islands but they are aware of the imminent danger”, explains Atencio López, a Guna leader and lawyer well respected both within the Guna Yala region and across Panama, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País (link in Spanish). “It’s hard to explain overnight to the elder generations that they need to abandon their homes”. However, as López explains, “the islands are collapsing and their communities will have to cross over to terra firma before the rise in sea levels happens, as we’ve been warned will happen with climate change”.
The El País report continues to add that of the 50 or so different island communities in Guna Yala, only five or six have so far seriously considered the big move back to the mainland. However, the Guna’s problem is already critical enough that it would not be overly surprising if they all end up being forced to move in the coming decades, if global climate change becomes as serious a phenomenon as warned by many in the scientific community.
The Guna Yala archipelago, also known as San Blas, is famous for its clear Caribbean seas and charming desert islands, which act as a magnet for tourists and holidaymakers. Photo courtesy of sanblaskunayala.com . As a report by the NGO Minority Rights Group states, the Guna are regarded as one of the most politically organised of Panama’s indigenous groups, and they have a long history of resistance to and autonomy from both colonial-era Spanish invaders and the modern Panamanian state. Having gradually migrated from the mainland out to the Guna Yala islands, due to a variety of factors including conflict with other indigenous and Spanish communities, between 1925 and 1930 they engaged in a series of uprisings and rebellions against the Panamanian government, who had tried to force them to abandon their distinctive culture for a more ‘Hispanic’ one promoted by the modern Panamanian state.
They briefly established a Republic of Tule which sought to give the Guna a nation independent from the rest of Panama, but a subsequent peace treaty mediated by US officials led to a compromise whereby they would remain part of Panama but would enjoy a degree of autonomy over their territory and political organisation. This arrangement has remained to the present day, but having successfully resisted European colonisers and early-20th-Century military oppression, the Guna appear willing to accept defeat against the rising tides and may well be forced to take the next bold step towards a new chapter in their long and varied history.
https://eyeonlatinamerica.com/2014/09/04/panama-climate-change-island-indigenous-guna-yala/
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Rising sea levels threaten Panama's indigenous Guna community
The indigenous culture is a silent culture – islanders have been silenced about ecocide and other injustices on their land for centuries. But Giovanny Barrantes hopes music can be a new way to share the feelings of his people.
Women sing and dance during anniversary celebrations of the Guna Revolution in Ustupu, an island in the Guna Yala region on Panama's Caribbean coast. Tribe members commemorate the February 25, 1925 clash with police with parades and dances. ( AP ) Panama's indigenous Guna people are threatened by climate change. As the Caribbean Sea level continues to rise, the residents are considering abandoning the islands they have lived on for generations.
Giovanny Barrantes, a member of the tribe, found a way to express his people’s feelings – through music.
He hopes through his music he can make an impact on the silent indigenous community Guna which has been damaged "by western cultures for many centuries by disrespecting trees and animals."
TRT World's Anelise Borges has more.
https://www.trtworld.com/life/rising-sea-levels-threaten-panama-s-indigenous-guna-community-12828
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Rising Sea Levels Threaten Tiny Islands Home To Indigenous Panamanians
Sea rise is threatening the way of life for a Panamanian indigenous group that lives on islands off the Caribbean coast. They're now pondering moving back to the mainland and abandoning their way of life.
KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
A hundred-and-fifty years ago, the Guna people of Panama left the mainland to escape deadly mosquitoes that carried malaria. They ended up in low-lying islands in the Caribbean. But now rising sea levels are forcing the Guna people to go back to the mainland, and that is changing the way they live. Jacob McCleland of member station KGOU reports.
JACOB MCCLELAND, BYLINE: Jaime Avila zooms his motorboat over clear blue Caribbean water and tosses a baited hook overboard. Avila, like many indigenous Gunas who live off of Panama's Northeastern coast, used to fish every day. Now instead of fishing, he mostly shuttles tourists from island to island. But the water is now the enemy.
JAIME AVILA: (Speaking Spanish).
MCCLELAND: "Because Arctic ice is melting," he says, and that means rising sea levels fueled by climate change threaten to swamp the Guna's tiny islands flecking Panama's coast. And leaders in Avila's community, Gardi Sugdub, a tiny island about a mile from the coast, plan to relocate to a hereditary tropical rain forest on the mainland. Avila says they'll lose a long tradition of living off the sea.
AVILA: (Through interpreter) I believe we'll lose a little bit of that style. We'll always be surrounded by a mountain landscape, by green.
MCCLELAND: Heliodoro Hartman is an elementary school teacher. Standing outside the school, he points to a line along the wall where high tide now reaches just short of flooding the small building. The rising tide has been gradual. People are becoming accustomed to this, he says.
HELIODORO HARTMAN: (Speaking Spanish).
MCCLELAND: He says last year, a violent storm ripped the roof right off the school and brought a surge of seawater that swamped the island. The view from the school is stunning. It sits amid thatched huts just yards from the water's edge. But the location has become a liability.
Community leader Blas Lopez leads me through Gardi Sugdub's sandy paths. He says many Guna travel by boat to the mainland every day where they farm, hunt and fetch fresh water for their islands. Satellite images show the Guna's uninhabited islands are shrinking, and scientists estimate the sea along Panama's Caribbean coast is going up by about 4 millimeters a year. That may seem like nothing, but these islands barely peak above the water's surface.
BLAS LOPEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
MCCLELAND: Lopez says, "Guna communities could disappear within 50 to a hundred years," and that threatens a vibrant island culture where children practice traditional songs and dances like this one and the indigenous Guna language is more commonly spoken than Spanish.
The Guna bear some of the responsibility for the strong storm surges that torment their islands. For years, they mined nearby reefs and used the coral to expand the size of their islands, removing a natural barrier that protects them from the waves. In June, the Panamanian government promised to build housing for 300 families who have signed up to move. But progress is slow, and there's no basic infrastructure on the mainland like plumbing, electricity and trash service. Pablo Presiado is one of Gardi Sugdub's seven sailas - a spiritual leader who makes decisions for the island. He says people shouldn't panic and move before a new home is ready.
PABLO PRESIADO: (Through interpreter) Where are we going to go to the bathroom, or where we going to get rid of our trash? There's no electricity. There are mosquitoes. There's no food. There are no stores. How are we going to go there now?
MCCLELAND: If Gardi Sugdub succeeds in moving, it'll be the first documented indigenous community in Latin America to relocate as a result of climate change according to international human rights organization Displacement Solutions. Other Guna communities - about 28,000 people in total - are watching closely to learn from Gardi Sugdub's experience. Community leader Blas Lopez says many of the island's older residents are hesitant.
LOPEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
MCCLELAND: "They want to live like they live now," he says, "next to the sea." Lopez says he'll miss the island life. He's been fishing and swimming in the ocean since he was a little kid. But now he's psychologically prepared to move. For NPR News, I'm Jacob McCleland.
MCEVERS: Imagine a forest that has taken your breath away, and then imagine going to visit the forest again and seeing nothing, like, for an hour as you keep driving and driving. That is what's happening in Brazil's rainforest, and it's what NPR photographer Kainaz Amaria documented during two weeks she recently spent in the Amazon. You can see her pictures at npr.org/brazil.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
We want you to visit the site and understand why the issue is so complicated.
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15 minutes ago, Bonnie said:
I'm afraid I don't understand your point, Bud. Can you elaborate?
On August 23rd Bud made a posting about working on this importation issue but from the point-of-view that there is a 2012 "Trade Promotion Agreement" (TPA) between Panama and the USA. Upon reading that TPA, it was clear that it applied to the importation of medical prescriptions, among other commercial goods. The news article that was referenced earlier today is discussing which US government agency/department is the "administrator" of the TPA from the US side. Thus, the nexus between these two topics.
This particular TPA encompasses much more than just pharmaceuticals, but they are included in the TPA. Former Under Secretary of the USDA Ted McKinney was/is the point person for the TPA.
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‘The whole team are champions, like Roberto Duran!’ – Panama coach Gomez
Following Panama’s qualification for Russia 2018, head coach Hernan Darío Gomez, has hailed his team of World Cup first-timers as ‘champions.’ Gomez puts them in the same mould as the country’s legendary boxer Roberto Duran.Gomez was speaking to RT following Friday's World Cup Final Draw held at the State Kremlin Palace, Moscow, where Panama were drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Tunisia and England.
Panama is primarily a boxing nation and Durán, known as ‘Manos de Piedra’ (‘Hands of Stone’), is undoubtedly the Central American nation’s most recognisable sporting export. His career in the ring spanning five decades, the precocious Panamanian won world titles in four weight classes. An arena named in his honor stands in Panama City, the country's capital.
While giving due respect to Duran’s dazzling achievements, Panama manager Gomez likened his side’s achievement of qualifying for the country’s maiden World Cup campaign to the glory tasted by the great Duran.
“We are very happy. I am thinking of the players, because they are happy too because we are here to learn,” Gomez said. “Duran is a champion and we are happy because we qualify for the first time and we have to respect him. The whole team are champions!”
READ MORE: Russia to kick off 2018 World Cup against Saudi Arabia in Moscow
Duran, 66, was ecstatic when ‘Los Canaleros’ secured victory over neighbours Costa Rica in October. They secured qualification via a Roman Torres goal, making the score 2-1 with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
“My dream to see my team play in the World Cup is to come true. Thank you my team. Viva Panama and see you in Russia!” a jubilant Duran tweeted.
https://www.rt.com/sport/411905-panama-hernan-dar%C3%ADo-gomez/
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Oil Exploration in Panama
One of the three companies that carried out geophysical studies to determine the possible existence of oil and natural gas in Panamanian soil, has announced that it has completed its data collection process.
Monday, November 27, 2017
The company GX Technology has completed data collection on the content of the coast and sea of the Panamanian Caribbean. From now on, the National Energy Secretariat can start to put out to tender the blocks for exploration of gas or oil fields.
Prensa.com reports that "...The company, based in Houston, USA, collected images of the marine subsoil using acoustic waves to characterize the geometry of the rock layers and map the geological structure of the marine subsoil in the Panamanian Caribbean Sea."
"... In addition to this company, two other companies, Spectrum Geo Inc, of Norway, and Geoex Panama, of England and the United States, are developing similar studies to collect geophysical information from the Panamanian subsoil, both on the Atlantic and Pacific side, where they can carry out oil or natural gas exploration."
The three companies reported that they allocated almost $88 million towards carrying out the studies. "... Geoex Panama S.A., $28 million, Spectrum Geo, $44.2 million, and GX Technology Co., $15.6 million. "https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/home/Panama_and_Oil_Exploration
The Panamanian company which has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2012 and is considered the most punctual airline in Latin America, inaugurated the direct connection between Panama and Denver, capital of the state of Colorado and one of the most important ski destinations in the United States on Monday, December 11.
Gorgas senior researcher José Calzada said that, although it is a property with great historical value the facilities “are no longer appropriate for research,” and researchers are spread over three buildings of the Santo Tomás Hospital.
Panama: Restaurant Supply Growing — The Owner of Applebee’s and IHOP Coming to PC
in Miscellaneous Topics re Panama
Posted
https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Restaurant_Supply_Growing