19 July 2013
The Panamanian Foreign Ministry announced that a five-member team of UN experts will inspect the Cuban weapons shipment that was seized last week in Panama on suspicion of carrying weapons to North Korea in violation of the UN arms embargo.
Although Panama has claimed to have acted on its own, American sources have reportedly confirmed that US intelligence was used, and the seizure has received strong support from the US. The US, operating the Panama Canal until 1999, has declined to comment on the details of the case, but security experts say the US likely assisted Panama in the operation.
Source: Reuters | U.S. concerned over North Korean arms ship, Panama awaits U.N.
28 January 2013
The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has submitted a Congressionally mandated report identifying ten nations whose fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2011 or 2012. The 10 states are Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Tanzania, and Venezuela. All ten nations identified in this year’s report had vessels that did not comply in 2011 and/or 2012 with conservation and management measures required under a regional fishery management organisation to which the US is a party. The report is part of the efforts of the United States to ensure that the US fishing industry is not undermined by unsustainable or illegal activities. The US will soon start consultations with each of the 10 nations to encourage them to take action to address IUU fishing and by-catch by their fishermen.
Source: Merco Press | US NOAA identifies 10 countries that conducted IUU fishing in 2011-12