Portobelo, pawr toh BEHL oh (pop. 3,867), a village on the Caribbean Coast of Panama, was often attacked by English pirates of the 1600's and 1700's. The town was one of the chief Spanish trading centers in Latin America. Spanish ships sailed from Portobelo to Spain with treasures of Latin America. The Spaniards founded the town in 1597. Portobelo lost importance as a seaport after the early 1700's.