Panama was formed in 1903 as a breakaway from Columbia, supported by the US in order to ensure its control of the Panama Canal, completed in 1914. Until 1970 the US held actual sovereignty over the Canal "zone," but Panama remains a virtual colony of the US. Along with several smaller Caribbean nations like Bermuda, Curacao, and the Cayman Islands,, Panama today is a large center for "offshore banking." But in some ways it is among the strongest and most independent of these, as its revenues from the Canal make it less subject to foreign pressure for transparency. Consider the leaking of the "Panama Papers" in 2016 and what it says about international tax evasion.