Arnulfo Franco

In his inauguration speech, US President Donald Trump said America would be 'taking back' the Panama Canal

ARNULFO FRANCO Updated

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Shipping companies have paid as much as $4 million in last-minute auction fees to send vessels through the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal Authority confirmed this week, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Iran conflict forces global trade to shift routes.

Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arevalo told AFP his country's constitution does not allow US military intervention to fight drug trafficking

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado smiles as she leaves after Mass at the National Basilica Santa Maria la Antigua in Panama City on July 5, 2026

The Panama Canal is reducing the number of daily transits through the waterway due to a drought caused by El Nino

The Panama Canal has not ruled out further restrictions on ship traffic because of a drought worsened by the El Niño climate phenomenon, its new administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta, said in an interview. The waterway, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and handles 5% of global maritime trade, has begun gradually reducing daily transits from 36 to 32 as of September 15.

The El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean has caused Panama to declare a nationwide emergency and reconsider the number of ships sailing through the Panama Canal