Panamanian Emilio Garzola Ruiz Linked to the Rita Wald Case from the Dictatorship Era was Deported From Nicaragua and Arrested in Panama

Panamanian Emilio Garzola Ruiz arrived in Panama, deported by Nicaragua.  He was detained by Interpol for his alleged participation in the forced disappearance of student Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo in March 1977.   This was during Noriega’s military regime when the young woman was seventeen years old, the Police reported this Friday. 

Rita Wald Case

A brief press release from the National Police (PN) indicated that Garzola Ruiz had an Interpol Panama red notice published on July 7, 2025, and that he was located in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on July 30, 2025.  After his arrival in the isthmus, Garzola Ruiz was apprehended and placed under the orders of the Panamanian judicial authorities, who will continue with the corresponding legal process, the official information added.  Police recalled that Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo, seventeen years old, “was a student and activist in the student movement, and her disappearance occurred in a context marked by human rights violations during the military regime in Panama.” 

According to a 2002 report by the so-called Truth Commission, an independent group created to investigate the crimes of the dictatorship, Rita Wald Jaramillo is one of the 110 people killed or disappeared during the military regime that ruled Panama between 1968 and 1989.  When the young woman disappeared in March 1977, the country was controlled by General Omar Torrijos (1969-1981) and Manuel Antonio Noriega (1983-1989) was in charge of the G-2, the intelligence and counterintelligence unit of the now-defunct National Guard.  In 2012, the Panamanian government reported compensation of $681,000 for the forced disappearance of the student, described as an opponent of the military dictatorship and linked to popular movements, and in 2017 the State publicly apologized for the case. 

Through @INTERPOL_HQ, the arrest of Emilio Garzola Ruíz was carried out, following his deportation from Nicaragua. He is wanted by Panamanian justice for his alleged involvement in the forced disappearance of Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo, which occurred in 1977.