Because of its strategic location, Panama is very possibly the most important country in the Western Hemisphere. If you look at it on a map, you can see that it is long and narrow. Its size is not particularly significant and its production of raw materials is non-existent. As most people know, the significance of Panama is the canal. The length of Panama runs from east to west and the Canal runs north to south allowing international shipping to flow from the Caribbean Sea into the Pacific Ocean and thereby short circuiting the run around the southern tip of South America. This canal saves time and energy. The Canal is worth billions in the short run and trillions of dollars in the end. This is why everyone so closely watches Panama.
Panama is in the process of improving the canal in hopes of diverting more shipping through their small but significant country. The expansion project is expected to be complete and double the canals capacity by 2014.
The problem is that the canal is susceptible to sabotage and high-jacking just as ships off Somalia are susceptible to Pirates. Panama was already high-jacked once by Noriega and it is possible that it could happen again. It is also possible that the threat could be external from other countries in the region or narco-terrorists. At present narcotics operations in Colombia operate in remote areas of Panama. Human trafficking is another major problem that Panama has at the moment.
Panama is a country in the Pacific Rim that well demands our attention.
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