No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsLatin AmericaPanama Faces Turmoil as Protests Turn Deadly Over Pension Law

Panama Faces Turmoil as Protests Turn Deadly Over Pension Law

A person died on Tuesday in Panama after sustaining a back injury during ongoing protests against a controversial pension reform, according to an official source. The incident occurred in the town of Rambala, in the Caribbean province of Bocas del Toro, near the Costa Rica border. Authorities have not released further details about the victim.

After dispersing a protest with tear gas, police “discovered a citizen lying in the road” with “a back wound,” stated Deputy Security Minister Luis Felipe Icaza at a press conference. The individual was treated by paramedics and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Icaza emphasized that Panamanian police “do not use lethal weapons” to control protests. However, the University Student Reform Association accused the government of President José Raúl Mulino of committing a “crime” and issued a statement expressing “absolute outrage over the murder of a fellow activist.”

Since Saturday, police have been working to clear roads blocked by masked protesters using logs and stones at over 30 points in Bocas del Toro. Government footage shows demonstrators clashing with police using stones, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails, while police respond with tear gas.

So far, over 50 people have been detained in connection with the protests. More than 1,300 police officers have been deployed to the area. The Mulino administration is facing nationwide protests over a pension reform law passed in March, which is opposed primarily by construction unions, teachers, and Indigenous groups.

Critics say the reform raises the retirement age and privatizes pensions—claims the right-wing government denies. Bocas del Toro has seen the most intense confrontations, particularly involving road blockades led by banana workers from the U.S.-based company Chiquita Brands. However, these workers have since withdrawn from the protests after negotiating a new law that restores the benefits previously removed by the pension reform.

Amid the unrest, Panama’s top union leader, Saúl Méndez, has requested political asylum at the Bolivian Embassy, while other labor leaders have been detained and placed in pretrial detention.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Celebrates 201st Annexation Anniversary With New Nicoya Park

Nearly 200 people joined the Municipality of Nicoya this Sunday to inaugurate a new park at the Annexation Monument, an initiative that blends recreation,...

Venezuelan Migrants Describe Torture After Deportation to El Salvador

“You’re going to rot in here. You’ll spend 300 years in prison.” That’s what Maikel Olivera says guards repeatedly told him during his four-month...

El Salvador at Center of Controversial U.S.-Venezuela Detainee Exchange

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele received the 10 Americans exchanged on Friday between Washington and Caracas for 252 Venezuelans who had spent four months in...

Costa Rican Lottery Official Investigated in Money Laundering Case

Another money laundering case has shaken Costa Rica. Following a series of raids that dismantled a laundering network operating through legal and illegal lottery...

Can Costa Rica’s Blue Zone Preserve Its Longevity Legacy?

The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is recognized worldwide as one of the five blue zones, where people live beyond the age of 90...

Panama Removed from EU High-Risk List, but Tax Haven Status Remains

The film The Laundromat, starring Meryl Streep, damaged Panama's reputation by drawing inspiration from a real-life story: the global scandal that erupted a decade...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica