Disputes - international:
organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the remote border region with Panama

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 15,551 (Colombia) (2014)

Illicit drugs:
major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem