For Polluting La Villa River in Panama a Million Dollar Fine was Levied
The company filed appeals in court, but the decision remained unchanged and the payment was not made at that time.
The Ministry of the Environment finally caught up with a debt that had been outstanding for over a decade. MiAMBIENTE successfully collected the full amount of a fine imposed in 2014 on the company Campos de Pesé, SA, for polluting the La Villa River in the province of Herrera with vinasse. Vinasse is the acidic, nutrient-rich, dark brown liquid byproduct generated during the distillation of fermented sugar-based materials (cane, beet, and molasses) in ethanol production. The sanction was established through Resolution AG-0688-2014 of October 3, 2014, after the damage to the water source was verified. At that time, a fine of $608,930.44 was set.
The company filed appeals in court, but the decision remained unchanged and the payment was not made at that time. The case was reactivated in December 2025, when the Regional Directorate sent it to the MiAMBIENTE Enforcement Court to initiate collection proceedings. Upon receiving it, the payment order was issued and the corresponding legal measures were activated to recover the outstanding amount. As part of the process, official notices were sent to banks and government entities, including the Transit and Land Transportation Authority. Sixty-nine vehicles belonging to the company were seized, along with a bank account.
These actions accelerated the legal process. Finally, the company paid off the entire debt. The updated amount totaled $669,823.48, and the payment was made on February 11, 2026. With this, MiAMBIENTE finalized the collection of a penalty that had been outstanding for more than ten years. The agency reported that activating the enforcement process allowed them to recover the money within two months of the case being filed with the Enforcement Court. Furthermore, it urged companies with outstanding obligations to regularize their situation to avoid similar measures.
