Panama’s Guna are weighing a proposed rainforest highway alongside undersea power lines linking Panama and Colombia’s grids. Supporters say better access could help remote villages, while some residents fear construction noise could disturb animals and sacred sites.
Funding for the power-line construction is still being raised. The lines would run underwater, but construction would require a road through dense rainforest and dozens of bridges to bring in equipment. Wargandí leaders voted last month to start a government consultation-and-consent phase; Gunayala is due to begin a similar process in October. The highway is estimated to cost about $100 million, and Panama’s energy ministry said the 2027 budget includes funding. Guna leaders say officials have tied highway support to negotiations over the power project.
School principal Urbano González said residents of Mordí once hiked through the jungle for days to reach Mulatupu so their children could attend school. Conservationist Indra Candanedo warned that logging and speculation are eroding eastern Panama’s forests, saying the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia could be opened through gradual encroachment rather than an official highway decision.
