The construction of a steel and concrete bridge in the Darién jungle at Yaviza, Panama marks the end of the Pan-American Highway. This construction project, costing $42 million, involves cutting four miles into the jungle and includes a second bridge over the Tuira River. The completion of this highway, stretching 18,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina, has been stalled for years due to concerns about the environment, crime, disease, and mass migration.
The construction of this new section has raised concerns about China’s involvement and its potential impact on the United States. The bridge’s completion could provide China with an alternate trade route bypassing the Panama Canal, while also potentially opening the floodgates to migrants from South America. U.S. leaders have expressed apprehension about Chinese infrastructure projects in the Western Hemisphere, particularly around the Panama Canal.
Last year saw a record 500,000 migrants passing through the Darién Gap on their way to the U.S. southern border, highlighting the strategic implications of China’s economic development in the region. The rise of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean has raised alarms about the erosion of U.S. influence and security.
The book "China’s Belt and Road and Panama: A Strategic and Prospective Scenario Between the Americas and China" envisions a world where borders blur and countries dissolve, with China’s BRI playing a central role in this global transformation. Chinese companies are actively involved in infrastructure projects in Colombia, including the Autopistas al Mar 2 highway project that will connect Medellín to ports in Urabá, where the Pan-American Highway terminates.
Panama, situated between Colombia and Costa Rica, is seen as a pivotal location for China’s BRI in Latin America. The completion of these infrastructure projects in the region could have far-reaching geopolitical and economic consequences, reshaping trade routes and power dynamics in the Western Hemisphere. He proposed that by also joining the BRI, the United States could potentially lessen geopolitical uncertainties. The comprehensive BRI map he presented illustrates railway routes cutting through the United States, connecting vital markets on both the east and west coasts. The book emphasizes the importance of infrastructure "connectivity" across air, land, and sea, as exemplified in Panama through the ongoing rehabilitation and maintenance of the East Pan-American Highway, including the bridges into the Darién. The project, awarded to Intervial Chile S.A. in partnership with the Panamanian government, is part of Panama’s Performance Standards Maintenance Program with an investment exceeding $262 million. Funding for the initiative comes from the International Finance Corp. (IFC), a division of the World Bank Group, which has collaborative ties with China. Over the years, China has pledged significant funds to the IFC to enhance global trade and has recently focused on environmentally sustainable bonds. The construction of a highway through the Darién Gap could potentially reduce the strategic importance of the Panama Canal, which the United States safeguards under a neutrality treaty. The canal’s return to Panama in 1999 following a treaty negotiated in the 1970s with President Jimmy Carter underscores its significance as a vital chokepoint, similar to the Darién Gap by land. Should tensions escalate over Taiwan, China’s ability to control or diminish the canal’s strategic value to the United States could have substantial implications, according to Andrés Martínez-Fernández, The Heritage Foundation’s senior policy analyst for Latin America. For further details, please refer to the original article here.