The leader of Panama’s main union, Saúl Méndez, accused of fraud and money laundering, left for exile in Bolivia this Saturday. He had taken refuge in the Bolivian embassy two months ago after denouncing political persecution, the organization reported. His departure comes two days after the Panamanian government filed a lawsuit in a labor court seeking to dissolve the construction union Suntracs, the largest labor organization in the country, where Méndez serves as secretary general.
“We go and we’ll return. Long live the Panamanian people!” Méndez shouted as he left the diplomatic mission in Panama City, escorted by police and surrounded by supporters, after the government granted him safe passage to leave the country. On its X (formerly Twitter) account, Suntracs announced that Méndez “is going into exile,” but said he had “not been silenced” nor “defeated.”
Another union leader, Erasmo Cerrud, is currently sheltered in the Nicaraguan embassy, awaiting safe passage to leave without being arrested, while two others remain in pre-trial detention. The Attorney General’s Office accuses them of money laundering, but the union leaders deny the charges and say it is political persecution by the government of José Raúl Mulino, who has accused Suntracs of being a “mafia.”
Méndez, who was under an arrest warrant, requested asylum at the Bolivian embassy after scaling its protective fence in the early hours of May 21. The day before, the government had ordered the closure of the cooperative used by the union to hold its members’ funds, alleging suspected money laundering.
“Suntracs has links to money laundering activities,” and its leadership ran it with “mafia-like corruption” for their own benefit, without truly “defending the workers,” Labor Minister Jackeline Muñoz said last Thursday. In recent months, Mulino has faced strikes from construction and banana workers, along with protests against reforms to social security and other government measures.
