Panama’s Minister of the Presidency Juan Carlos Orillac on Bocas del Toro: “We don’t want a situation anywhere near what happened years ago.”

Juan Carlos Orillac addressed the situation in Bocas del Toro on Tuesday, June 3, where road closures remain in place. In his remarks, he emphatically stated that the government is seeking to avoid resorting to force.  “That would be the ultimate mechanism, forcibly opening the streets in a place where there is, let’s say, history regarding this,” the minister said in his remarks.  Again he emphatically stated that the government is seeking to avoid resorting to force.

Suntracs Leader Threatens to Take Over Public Offices in Bocas del Toro

The leader of the National Union of Construction and Related Industry Workers (Suntracs), Diógenes Espinoza, threatened to take over public offices in Bocas del Toro if the government does not repeal Law 462 of the Social Security Fund (CSS), which reforms the pension system.  During a press conference, Minister of the Presidency Juan Carlos Orillac described the statement as a threat to the security of the state and its officials. “It is not the way or the mechanism to resolve this crisis,” he stated.  Community groups in Bocas del Toro refused to meet with the CSS technical committee. The government lamented the affront and criticized the closure of opportunities for dialogue when officials had already been mobilized.