- Two environmental groups fighting the Puerto Barú project in Panama have been named in lawsuits claiming they defamed the developers and created public confusion about the project.
- The Center for Environmental Advocacy of Panama and the Adopt a Panama Rainforest Association (Adopta Bosque) say the port could damage mangroves and harm vulnerable shark and ray species.
- Both organizations have had their assets seized, including bank accounts and properties that serve as private nature reserves.
For more than a year, dozens of environmental groups have been fighting the construction of a controversial port in Panama, arguing that it will harm marine life and the mangroves they depend on. Now, two of those groups have had their assets seized amid lawsuits filed by the port’s developer — a move environmental advocates say is highly unusual.
The Puerto Barú project, located in Panama’s northwestern Chiriquí province, has been stalled by legal challenges filed by a coalition of environmental groups, which have also led public campaigns claiming the port could damage the breeding grounds of sharks, rays and other marine life. In response, the port’s developer, Ocean Pacific Financial Services Corp., has filed criminal and civil lawsuits against two of the groups, and a court has ordered the seizure of some of their assets.
“It’s a very worrying precedent that the judicial system is being used in this way against actions to defend the environment,” said Joana Abrego, legal manager at the Environmental Advocacy Center of Panama (CIAM), a nonprofit and one of the defendants in the lawsuits.
Puerto Barú is designed to improve connectivity with the nearby town of David and the Pan-American Highway while also strengthening tourism and agribusiness, according to developers.
But the project also includes a 31-kilometer (19-mile) navigation channel to the Pacific coast that must be dredged deep enough for large merchant ships. The area is home to around 25% of Panama’s mangroves, and parts of it are considered an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA), a designation given to critical shark and ray habitats.
Cargo traffic around the port could also compromise wildlife in Coiba Island National Park and Marino Golfo de Chiriquí National Park, located approximately 10 km (6 mi) away, the coalition said.
A separate analysis by the Conservation Strategy Fund found that the project could cause up to $32 million in environmental damage, including erosion and the loss of mangroves that act as a carbon sink.
In 2024, six environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the project, arguing that the environmental impact assessment should be nullified because it misstated the potential ecological damage and misled local communities during the consultation process.
The Supreme Court has not moved forward with the case since it was filed, leaving the project’s fate in legal limbo, critics said.
Lawsuits against environmental groups
In August 2025, CIAM and the Adopt a Panama Rainforest Association (Adopta Bosque) were named in individual criminal complaints filed by Ocean Pacific Financial Services Corp., which alleged the groups had damaged its reputation and created public confusion about the Puerto Barú project. The complaints asked the Public Ministry to investigate the groups and hold them criminally responsible for defamation.
This month, the groups also appear to have been named in separate civil complaints that have not been made public. The complaints are listed in Panama’s judicial database, but details are not expected to be available until the lawsuits are formally served.
In the meantime, both organizations have had assets seized as a preventative measure, documents reviewed by Mongabay show.
Four Adopta Bosque properties making up private nature reserves in the Chiriquí and Darién provinces were seized, creating uncertainty about whether organization members can enter the area or continue conservation work.
CIAM had its bank accounts frozen, making it difficult to carry out conservation initiatives like providing legal assistance to vulnerable communities and combatting illegal fishing in the Cordillera de Coiba protected area, among others, the organization said.
It’s unclear whether park rangers and researchers will be removed from some areas, Guido Berguido, biologist and Adopta Bosque director, told Mongabay. He’s also unsure how long the organization can operate without access to its bank accounts.
“We are struggling to operate because soon we won’t be able to pay employees,” he said. “They’re using the law to render us inoperable.”
Ocean Pacific Financial Services Corp. didn’t respond to requests for comment for this story. But in local media, a legal representative of the company said CIAM and Adopta Bosque published false information without scientific backing.
Activism in Panama becomes increasingly difficult
In recent years, activists in Panama have faced physical violence, threats and lawsuits for speaking out against development projects and new government policies.
In 2023, approximately 100 people were injured while protesting against the Cobre Panamá copper mine, which had caused pollution and deforestation in the area. Two protesters were run over by vehicles and two others were shot at close range, according to the Ombudsman office.
That same year, a criminal complaint for illicit association to commit crimes was filed against 21 anti-mining protesters blocking a road in Chiriquí.
In 2025, the government declared a state of emergency in response to national protests against changes to the social security law, resulting in the arrest of more than 300 people.
At the same time, the use of lawsuits to target activist groups — a tactic critics describe as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs — appears to be a new development, some environmental groups told Mongabay. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to concerns about legal repercussions.
Others said the lawsuits felt like a natural escalation of repression in the country.
They expressed concern over whether this will continue to be a strategy to cripple groups that speak out, many of which operate with limited funds or as nonprofits.
“This is unprecedented in Panama’s history,” Berguido said. “Never before has a nonprofit conservation group been targeted with this kind of legal attack.”
He added, “We will continue to defend nature. That is our mission as a conservation organization.”
Banner image: Kayakers paddle among mangroves near the planned area for Puerto Barú in David, Chiriquí, Panama. Image courtesy of No A Puerto Barú.
See related from this reporter:
Panama boosts protections in the Darién Gap, but deforestation threats still loom
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