Two lawyers gunned down lifts killings to 30 in August

While the homicide rate for the year has fallen, Panama has registered 30 violent killings  in the last 15 days including two young lawyers gunned down on Monday in front of a bar.

Christopher Eduardo Román Birmingham 25,    and  Efrain Rodriguez were killed at 2.30 a.m.  after parking a Toyota Land Cruiser in the the parking lot of Los Corrales in the Plaza Cordoba, Avenida de Cordoba.

 Police who cordoned off the area found over 160 cartridges, near the two inert bodies.

Christopher who worked at the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) was the son of a of San Miguelito prosecutor Anny Irasema Birmingham.

Attorney General, Jose Prado Ayú, and prosecutors   Dimas Guevara  and Sinfinar Espinosa arrived at the crime scene and authorities have already claim the captured  of five "suspects."

Prado Ayú  could not say if the murder was connected with the  work of  prosecutor Anny Birmingham.

The deaths of Roman and Rodriguez in front of numerous witnesses point to an increasing disregard of secrecy by gang killers.

Among the recent high profile deaths were footballer Javier de la Rosa,21, killed after a foorball match.

Jonathan Alexander Garcia Trucco, son of the mayor of Colon Columbus, Damaso Garcia, was shot  in a taxi on the morning of May 13.

In 2008 Panama, with a population of around 3.2 million had  654 reported homicides.  In 2009 the number rocketed to 818 and in 2010 fell back to 738.

The province with the highest rate of bloodshed in 2010 was Panama, with 516, according to the Ministry of Security.

Until July 31, this year  there were 413 homicides, while in the same period in 2010 the figure was 483.

José Raúl Mulino Minister attributes the decline to "police actions bymade by public security sectors throughout the country."

Geomar Jones an experienced prosecutor told La Prensa that although homicide rates have fallen  she is alarmed by recent cases of murders that she has had to deal with because of the methods and techniques used.

She said that that criminals do not hesitate to operate wherever and whenever, and  this has to do with the introduction to of techniques from other countries.