The Riot at La Joyita Panama: Prisoners Armed themselves with Kitchen Utensils and Destroyed 46 Cameras
Official report reveals serious flaws that caused the ‘mega-leak’ from La Joyita.
After the massive escape at La Joyita prison, those in overall charge of the system remain in their positions. The escape of nearly 200 inmates from La Joyita prison has exposed flaws in the chain of command. The mass escape at La Joyita prison is the direct result of a chain of command that was responsible for the custody, surveillance and control of the prisoners.
The structure delegates civil administration to the Ministry of Government (Mingob), headed by Minister Dinoska Montalvo pictured above, and perimeter security to the National Police. The director in charge of the prison details in an official note to the Public Prosecutor how the rumor of transfers and erratic police decisions left the center under the absolute control of the inmates. The investigations continue. Stay tuned.
Two inmates surrendered voluntarily to the authorities this Friday, in the presence of the Minister of Government, Dinoska Montalvo, who made a call to the prisoners who remain fugitives. Security forces are maintaining search operations to locate the remaining fugitives.
The Head of La Joyita was Unaware of the Transfers
Onénimo Araúz, the acting director of La Joyita, attributed the escape to structural failures of the perimeter, whose surveillance was under the responsibility of the National Police. Little by little, more details are emerging about the historic escape of 195 inmates from La Joyita prison on June 1st. Official reports, testimonies from officials, and documents submitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office are beginning to reconstruct how the riot unfolded, which also left three dead and a series of questions about security failures and the chain of responsibility within the prison system. In the report, Araúz reconstructs the events that preceded and accompanied the riot, identifies vulnerabilities in the prison’s perimeter—which was under the responsibility of the National Police—and details the transfers of escaped inmates, as well as the actions taken to try to regain control of the penitentiary.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the mass escape.
