El Salvador has requested this Sunday from the government of Panama and “leaders” of civil society to enable a “humanitarian corridor” so that Salvadoran transporters stranded by road blockades against the contract with a Canadian mining company can leave that country.
“Our country calls on the competent authorities and the leaders of civil society who are maintaining the road closures to enable a humanitarian corridor so that our compatriots can leave Panama as soon as possible,” the Salvadoran Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
According to the Salvadoran government, “for more than 30 days” the Embassy of El Salvador in Panama has “attended to the food and health needs” of an unspecified number of cargo truck drivers who were stranded due to the closure of routes in that nation.
“Up to this moment, it has been impossible to find a solution for the drivers who continue to be stranded on Panamanian territory,” the Foreign Ministry maintained.
The protests and road blockades began on October 20 when Congress approved the contract signed by the Panamanian State and the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM), which allows the multinational to operate for 40 years in the Caribbean area of the country.
In Panama, the blockades have caused a shortage of basic products and losses of more than 1.7 billion dollars, according to business associations.
The Supreme Court of Panama began last Friday to analyze “unconstitutionality” claims against the contract with the Canadian mining company.
The justices of the highest court are in “permanent session” until they issue a ruling on the matter, which could lead to the closure of the largest open-pit copper mine in Central America.
