Panama Birthplace Of John McCain Very Different 71 Years Later
April 8, 2026 by patrickwoolford
Current US Senator and presidential hopeful John McCain has deep ties to Panama, in fact, he was born there. The presidential candidate was born in the port city of Colon, in a neighborhood that housed US military families in the Panama Canal Zone. The Senator’s Panamanian roots have even raised some questions as to his eligibility to run for president as a natural born US citizen, yet these allegations have since been dropped as the Panama Canal Zone was considered a US territory at the time of McCain’s birth in 1936.
McCain’s early childhood residence likely looks significantly different than it did over 70 years ago. Houses once occupied by US military officers such as McCain’s father have since been abandoned and allowed to decay and collapse. Following the turnover of the Canal Zone to Panama in the 1970s, McCain’s neighborhood, an area known as Coco Solo, has become a major container terminal along the canal. The city of Colon is now one of the poorest regions of Panama, and continues to struggle with urban blight and gang related violence. Yet Panama remains hopeful as the new Panama Canal expansion projects should bring much needed jobs to the region.
source:
Tropical decay blights McCain’s Panama birthplace (Reuters.com)
