59 murders in May brings total this year to 242
With hundreds of police officers allocated to control measures linked to the pandemic Panama gang warfare continued through May with 59 homicides bringing the total for the year to 242 an increase of 67 over the same period last year.
Executions have dominated with assassins oblivious to the coronavirus quarantine
The first killings were on May 3 in Colón, where two DJs were gunned down, after they made their last presentation through social networks.
In total, 11 people were killed during during month in Colón bringing the provincial total for the year to 41.
On May 7 the bodies of three men whom they executed were found in the community of El Líbano, , West Panama.
On May 11 the devil was unleashed 10 people were killed including a man who was one of the most wanted in the country andwas in an exclusive residential area in Condado del Rey.
Hours later, the bullets rang out in the El Chumical area in Vacamonte, Arraiján district. Four bodies were found in a grassland area. Each had received more than 10 bullets
Before the day ended two brothers and a woman were shot in a Los Santos home.. They were at home when gunmen shot them.
The death of a 73 year old schoolteacher who was killed and cut into pieces by her daughter y was one of the few killings unrelated to gang warfare.
Jorge Miranda, director of the National Police, said that the current situation stemmed from the gang battle in La Joya Prison where 13 inmates died in December 2019
Criminologist Aida Selles said “The crime is only going to be reasonably reduced, it is not going to be eradicated. Crime does not disappear, it only changes.”
“The increase in homicides is indicating to us that violence in Panama is already a way of life, as a way of solving problems, whether due to drug trafficking, gangs or domestic violence,” said criminologist Marcos Álvarez.