2014 Panama–Venezuela diplomatic crisis

The 2014 Panama–Venezuela diplomatic crisis refers to the differences that arose between the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro and the Panamanian government of Ricardo Martinelli which strained Panama–Venezuela relations, which began after a series of protests by Venezuelan students and opposition leaders that began in February 2014. The crisis started on 5 March, when, during the celebrations for the first anniversary of the death of former president Hugo Chávez, Maduro publicly announced the breaking of diplomatic and commercial relations with Panama and accused Martinelli of being a "creeping lackey" of the United States.

The cutting off of diplomatic relations revealed a series of irregularities reported by the Panamanian government, including a multimillion-dollar debt from Venezuela to the Colón Free Trade Zone in Panama and the alleged interference by President Maduro in the 2014 Panamanian general election, by supporting the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party. Meanwhile, Panama took action to give a voice to the Venezuelan opposition in the Organization of American States (OAS) and responded in harsh terms to the accusations of the Venezuelan government.

However, the crisis took a turn with the election of opposition leader Juan Carlos Varela as Panama's president-elect on 4 May, which prompted the Maduro government to commit to Panama in the normalization of relations. With the accusations between Martinelli and Maduro having ceased, and in turn Panama's support for Venezuelan opposition groups, the consulate in Panama was reopened a few days later, and President-elect Varela committed to the reestablishment of diplomatic and commercial relations, once he assumed power on 1 July, and ratified by the vice president of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, who visited the presidential inauguration and ended the crisis.