2023 in Panama

25 January – The United States bars former president Ricardo Martinelli from entering the country, accusing him of accepting bribes during his 2009–2014 administration.^[1]

15 February – Gualaca bus crash: At least 39 illegal immigrants are killed in Gualaca District, Chiriquí Province, when their bus, intended to be driven to the United States, falls off a cliff.^[2]

21-30 April – The 16th Pan American Surf Games are held in Santa Catalina. 234 athletes from 19 nations compete, Brazil win, and 42 Pan American Games spots are awarded.^[3]

1 July – Panama Pride in Panama City draws over 15,000 people, with music, decorations, and protests against the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling.^[4]
20 July – The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) reduces the average daily transit capacity to 32 vessels per day due to late rains and low water levels.^[5]
31 July – The relocation of the Guna community from Gardi Sugdub is delayed to February 2024 due to overcrowding and incomplete mainland infrastructure.^[6]

3 September – Panamanian professional footballer Gilberto Hernández is shot dead and seven others are wounded by gunmen in Colón.^[7]
8 September – Panama announces stricter measures to curb record migration through the Darien Gap, including more deportations, shorter tourist stays, and higher financial requirements.^[8]

3 October – Panama competes at the Pan American Games in Santiago with 69 athletes, winning 8 medals.

2 November – Panama’s lawmakers agree to modify a proposed bill that aimed to annul a recently approved Cobre Panamá contract.^[9]
8 November – A 77-year-old man with Dual American-Panamanian citizenship shoots and kills two people protesting a mining contract in front of news cameras.^[10]
9 November – Human Rights Watch reports widespread abuse of migrants crossing the Darién Gap into Panama, with over 457,000 crossings in 2023 and exploitation by criminal groups like the Gulf Clan.^[11]^[12]
16 November – Panama holds the National Robotics Olympics with CABEI support, attracting nearly 100,000 visitors and promoting STEAM education for students and teacher training.^[13]
25 November – Anti-mining activists gather outside Panama’s Supreme Court in Panama City as deliberations begin on constitutional challenges to First Quantum Minerals’ contract for the Cobre Panamá mine.^[14]
28 November –The Supreme Court declares the law granting First Quantum Minerals a mining contract for the Cobre Panamá mine unconstitutional, after which President Laurentino Cortizo announced that the mine would be closed.^[14]

Incumbents