Panama’s La Joyita Penitentiary Reopens its Wounds with 13 Dead and a Trial that Revives a Massacre
Now, six years later, the case returns with twelve people sitting in the dock.
The trial for the La Joyita massacre shook the foundations of the Accusatory Penal System (SPA) once again this Monday. Twelve people are facing trial, accused of aggravated intentional homicide and attempted homicide, for one of the bloodiest episodes ever to occur in a Panamanian prison. It all goes back to December 17, 2019. That day, inside a cellblock at La Joyita prison, the situation spiraled out of control. What began as an internal conflict ended in a scene that many still have not forgotten: 13 inmates’ dead and 11 wounded.
The case is now in the hands of the Trial Court of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama, which must review everything that happened: witnesses, expert reports, documents, and accounts. In the courtroom, the jury of conscience —five men and three women—was sworn in, while the prosecution presented its theory of the case and the defense, both public and private, began to respond. But inside La Joyita, the issue never completely went away.
That day, the confinement could not be endured any longer. In a matter of minutes, the cellblock descended into complete chaos. There were fights, weapons, and gunshots. No one outside had a clear understanding of what was happening in real time. Information arrived fragmented, incomplete, in pieces. The families were the last to understand anything. First rumors, then brief calls, then confirmations that hurt more than the wait. Each new piece of information was worse than the last.
