Bocas del Toro: The Death of a Young Girl: National Police Reject the Allegations
The director of the National Police of Panama, Jaime Fernández, sent a letter to the Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc, in which he referred to the alleged death of a one-year-old girl who, according to reports, was caused by tear gas during protests that took place in the province of Bocas del Toro in recent days. In the letter, Fernández, representing the state security forces, categorically rejected the statements made by Domingo Barrios, president of the Board of Directors of SOS Children’s Villages Panama, regarding the case that apparently occurred in the town of Pueblo Nuevo pictured below, province of Bocas del Toro. He described Mr. Barrios’s statements as “biased.” He blamed security forces for the infant’s death after using tear gas during the riots in the region, without presenting any evidence.
“The aforementioned death is a ‘consequence of the tear gas fired into his home during the violent repression’… a clearly biased statement,” the National Police stated in its letter, emphasizing that no evidence has been presented to support this accusation so far. Security forces maintain that the disturbances to public order in Bocas del Toro are not due to peaceful demonstrations, but rather to acts of violence and looting, which, they claim, have forced them to intervene to restore peace and order. While the institution expressed its regret over the death of any human being, especially a minor, it warned that such “baseless” assertions only weaken public trust and damage the credibility of social organizations.
“We also regret that the good name of a subsidiary of a prestigious international organization lends itself to, or is being used for this type of biased accusations,” concludes the statement signed by the National Police Directorate. This exchange of statements comes amid a climate of high social tension in the province of Bocas del Toro, where protests against Law 462 took place; however, according to statements by Security Minister Frank Ábrego, gangs took over the movement with different objectives and ended up vandalizing public and private infrastructure in the province.
