HomeNewsBriefVideo of Armed Inmates Shows Conditions in Panama Prisons
BRIEF

Video of Armed Inmates Shows Conditions in Panama Prisons

HUMAN RIGHTS / 10 APR 2017 BY LEONARDO GOI EN

A video recorded in a Panama prison showing inmates holding weapons casts new doubts on the state of the country's prison system.

The footage, allegedly shot in Panama's "La Joyita" (The Little Jewel) prison in the city of Pacora, shows inmates boasting high caliber weapons, reported Panamá América (see video below).

The video, which authorities believe was recorded in December 2016 but circulated on social media in April this year, led President Juan Carlos Varela to order a police raid on La Joyita on April 5, which he personally supervised. The strike, reportedly conducted by some 1,000 officers, targeted the penitentiary's ninth pavilion, where high-level criminals and gang members are detained.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Prisons

While authorities allegedly only seized half of the weapons shown in the video, the raid also reportedly led to the seizure of drugs and ammunition. The 12 convicts featured in the clip were all identified, brought before President Varela, and eventually transferred to another prison, known as "La Gran Joya" (The Big Jewel), a high security penitentiary also in Pacora.

"The presence of weapons in the country's prisons is something we will never accept, and today we are cleaning La Joyita," President Varela told Telemetro on April 6.

InSight Crime Analysis

The clip recorded in La Joyita sheds light on the abysmal state of Panama's prison system, and the free reign inmates enjoy in some penitentiaries, thanks to the complicity of corrupted officers.  

Admittedly, this was not the first incident involving firearms in La Joyita. Already in 2014, an inmate was killed during a shootout, which left four other convicts injured, reported Noticias Terra. And in June 2015, six inmates escaped from the penitentiary.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Panama

More worrying still, the prison's director said the cameras inside the penitentiary do not work properly, and that convicts can easily access their mobile phones and coordinate criminal activities from behind bars.

But while Varela's government faces pressures to toughen security measures in some prisons, others have pointed their fingers at the inhumane treatment received by convicts.

In 2015, Panamanian Ombudsman Lilia Herrera published a damning report highlighting alleged human rights abuses suffered by the criminals detained in Punta Coco, a maximum security prison on the Isla del Rey island. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos – CIDH) has asked the government to transfer Punta Coco's inmates to a "place that complies with the international living standards for prisoners," reported Panamá América.

But Varela was clear that the recommendations will not be followed.

"Punta Coco will stay open. I'd rather face criticism than put the security of Panamanian citizens at risk," the President was quoted by Noticias Terra as saying. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 3 DEC 2021

Authorities in Panama are intercepting massive loads of cocaine at ports and in coastal waters, showing how the country is…

ECUADOR / 7 OCT 2022

Any chance of peace between warring gangs in Ecuador appears to be defunct after another two massacres.

BAGDAD / 9 SEP 2021

As Panama struggles to contain an ever-growing flow of cocaine, a recent operation has revealed the extent to which officials…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…