Under the Shadow Ep. 12 | Panama Canal

Panama is, perhaps, the country in the region that has suffered under the longest U.S. shadow—right from the very beginning. The country and the canal would become the United States’ most important asset in the region. The United States installed as many as 100 military bases throughout Panama, during World War II, and it was the base of Washington’s Latin American military training apparatus.

Panama was the heart of the United States in Latin America, and, as we will see, the United States ripped apart the country to do it: cleared and flooded cities, installed its own walls and fences, segregated its new territory into an apartheid system on foreign soil.

In this episode, host Michael Fox walks us up from the beginning, and takes us to what was once the United States’ most important asset in Latin America. 

This is Episode 12.

Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. 

In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Guests:
John Lindsay Poland
Marixa Lasso
Olmedo Beluche
Celia Sanjur
Gilma Camargo
Claire Nevache-Weill

Edited by Heather Gies.

Sound design by Gustavo Türck.

Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox. Monte Perdido's new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music.

Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Resources: 

Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama (Duke, 2003), is John Lindsay Poland’s expose on the U.S. military involvement in Panama.

Erased: The Untold Story of the Panama Canal (Harvard University Press, 2019) is Marixa Lasso’s deep dive into the history of the Panamanian towns that were removed to make way for the Panama Canal Zone.

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