Analysis

Bananas, After the Strike

Labor strife, climate shocks, and Chiquita’s uneasy return mark a new chapter for Panama’s banana industry. September 5, 2025, 2:00 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )

An illustration shows a zoomed-in view of the peel of a banana with a Chiquita sticker on it peeling off. Black images on the peel show workers striking, worker gloves and other gear.

A logo shows a red caterpillar munching on a globe with the words The Hungry Hegemon.

Where cuisine conquers all. Read more from the series.

When Christopher Columbus first set eyes on Bocas del Toro on Oct. 6, 1502, he was struck by the area’s natural beauty. The archipelago, located on present-day Panama’s northwestern Caribbean coast, was a remote and untamed frontier whose swampy terrain

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