11/3 Independence Day in Panama.

Heavy machinery entered and began cutting down the tropical forest mangroves near Galeta, outside of Colon.

The latest clearing has been carved out "almost in secret during national holidays, so there would be no media reaction".

The cleaning was conducted by a transportation cooperative called Serafin Nino from Colon and occurred in the buffer zone of the Galeta Protected Landscape and near Galeta Point Marine Labratory, a facility of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

The land will likely be used to store transportation equipment that moves cargo to and from the ports of Colon and the Free Zone.