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]
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]
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]
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]
