Panama ( PAN -ə-mah , pan-ə-MAH ; Spanish: Panamá IPA: [panaˈma] ⓘ ), officially the Republic of Panama , is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America , bordering South America . It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city is Panama City , whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's over 4 million inhabitants.0
Before the arrival of Spanish colonists in the 16th century, Panama was inhabited by a number of different indigenous tribes . It broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia , a union of Nueva Granada , Ecuador , and Venezuela . After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties agreed to transfer the canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999. The surrounding territory was first returned in 1979.
Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Panama's GDP , especially since the Panama Canal expansion project (finished in 2016) has doubled its capacity. Commerce, banking, and tourism are major sectors. Panama is regarded as having a high-income economy . In 2019 Panama ranked 57th in the world in terms of the Human Development Index . In 2018, Panama was ranked the seventh-most competitive economy in Latin America, according to the World Economic Forum 's Global Competitiveness Index. Panama was ranked 84th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023. Covering around 40 percent of its land area, Panama's jungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of them found nowhere else on earth.
Panama is a founding member of the United Nations and other international organizations such as the Organization of American States , Latin America Integration Association , Group of 77 , World Health Organization , and Non-Aligned Movement . (Full article... )
The United States invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush . The primary purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega , who was wanted by U.S. authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking . The operation, codenamed Operation Just Cause , concluded in late January 1990 with the surrender of Noriega. The Panama Defense Forces (PDF) were dissolved, and President-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office.
Noriega, who had longstanding ties to United States intelligence agencies, consolidated power to become Panama's
de facto dictator in the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s, relations between Noriega and the U.S. began to deteriorate due to fallout of the murder of
Hugo Spadafora and the removal from office of President
Nicolas Ardito Barletta . His criminal activities and association with other spy agencies came to light, and in 1988 he was indicted by federal
grand juries on several drug-related charges. Negotiations seeking his resignation, which began under the presidency of
Ronald Reagan , were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1989, Noriega annulled the results of the
Panamanian general elections , which appeared to have been won by opposition candidate Guillermo Endara; President Bush responded by reinforcing the U.S. garrison in the
Canal Zone . After a U.S. Marine officer was shot dead at a PDF roadblock, Bush authorized the execution of the Panama invasion plan. (
Full article... )
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