Panama’s New Drug Incinerator

Thanks to cooperation agreements with the United States embassy, ​​Panama was able to update its tools for the eradication of drug trafficking.  The Ministry of Public Security (Minseg) announced this Saturday, June 15, the inauguration of an incinerator for illicit substances, whose technology allows the pollution caused by open burning in Panama to be eliminated at the root.  The acquisition of the equipment was achieved thanks to cooperation agreements with the United States embassy. 

The accumulation of drugs seized in Panama represents an approximate of 12 to 13 tons per month, an amount that generates an accumulation that exceeds the capacities of the improvised warehouses in different parts of the country.  Given this situation, on August 26, 2022, the Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, thanks to the cooperation agreements, allowed, for the first time, the transfer to the United States of 1,440 boxes of cocaine packed on a plane at no cost to Panama.  The new incinerator is considered a national security project, since organized crime finances its activities with money from drug trafficking.  This project, promoted by the National Government, at a cost of 1.5 million dollars, is framed with the protection of the environment, climate change and the health of citizens, through which Panama reaffirms its commitment to generating actions in favor of the planet. 

Panama is the only country in the region that has an incinerator for illicit substances.  During the administration of the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, the Public Force seized 589.6 tons of illegal drugs in more than 1,953 police operations in the country, a record figure that surpasses the last three administrations.