Joseph E. Stiglitz and Mark Pieth: Why We Left the Panama Commission

Twenty-six years ago, as the U.S. invaded Panama to overthrow the narco-President Manuel Noriega, Panama’s reputation hit a nadir: a drug center where criminality reached to the highest level. Since then, the country has made great strides in restoring its reputation, though it remained one of those off-shore “fiscal paradises” where secrecy served well those who were engaged in tax evasion and money laundering. Even here, Panama was making great improvements.