The suspension of diplomatic relations between Panama and Venezuela following the post-electoral crisis in the South American country has not yet affected bilateral trade, which has continued, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said on Thursday.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), the Panamanian foreign minister (Javier Eduardo Martínez-Acha) told me that, for now, the flow of trade has not been greatly affected” by the bilateral diplomatic crisis, said the Panamanian head of state during his weekly press conference.
The Colon Free Zone (CFZ), the largest in the Americas and located in the Caribbean of Panama, supplies the Venezuelan market, which is highly dependent on imports due to the virtual destruction of the productive apparatus and the local currency, the bolivar, under the Chavista model of the last 25 years.
In 2023, Venezuela was the main buyer of the ZLC with 13.8% of re-exports, followed by Panama with 13.3%, Nicaragua with 7.8% and Costa Rica with 6.7%, according to the statistics of the free zone.
On July 29, Mulino suspended diplomatic relations with Venezuela following the proclamation of Nicolás Maduro as re-elected president in the elections held a day earlier without the National Electoral Council (CNE) of that country presenting the minutes that support it.
The Venezuelan opposition led by Edmundo González published online more than 80% of the minutes provided by its voting table witnesses and claims to have won the presidential elections by a wide margin, a position that has the support of several Latin American countries, including Panama.
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In this context, and also on July 29, Maduro announced the temporary suspension of commercial flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic, both countries frequently used by Venezuelans and citizens of other nationalities to make air connections due to the low supply of direct flights to and from Venezuela.
According to data from Tocumen International Airport, Panama’s main airport and a regional hub, 311,624 passengers traveled between the Central American country and Venezuela during the first half of this year.
News reports citing the Venezuelan Airline Association earlier this month said airfares in Venezuela have increased by 300 percent since the Maduro government suspended flights to several countries, including Panama.
Between Panama and Venezuela “there is a commercial flow (…) international flights have of course been affected but the Panamanian flag carrier Copa has sought alternatives and there is, in some way (through a) third country, assistance to that place whose passengers have no say in the funeral,” said Mulino.
“You know that there are ways to trade, so yesterday the foreign minister told me that for now the trade flow (between Panama and Venezuela) has not been greatly affected. Of course it is a problem to be like this, but that is not Panama’s fault,” Mulino added.
Panama City / EFE
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2024-08-30 00:59:22
