Found Guilty in Panama of Laundering 10 Million Dollars by Drug Trafficking. The Ringleader of Operation Fisher and 13 Other Defendants Jailed.
A beach house pictured below located in Río Hato, Coclé province, valued at one million dollars, was seized in Operation Fisher. Operation Fisher dismantled a network linked to the Gulf Clan that received drug shipments along the coast of Colón and used companies to transport them to Europe and the United States. Sentences will be announced on October 6th.
Jorge Luis General, identified as the leader of a criminal network linked to the Clan del Golfo, from whom more than $10 million from drug trafficking was seized, was found guilty along with 13 other people for the crimes of money laundering and illicit association to commit crimes. Along with General, his wife, Nadia Gómez; his mother, Adelina General; his sister, Benita General; and his brother-in-law, Aníbal Delgado, were also convicted. The trial, which began in June 2025, concluded on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 9, when judges Anabel Varela, Dieter Targanski Gómez and Baloisa Marquínez announced their decision to declare 14 of the 16 defendants in this case guilty.
Police officers Erick Santos and Fabio Cerrud were acquitted. Both faced charges of conspiracy to commit crimes, not money laundering. During the trial, the Drug Prosecutor’s Office presented a total of 240 documentary evidence, 13 expert reports, and five pieces of material evidence to support its theory of the case, as well as some 40 witnesses, including experts and National Police officers who participated in the surveillance and monitoring operations. In addition, at least 100 transcripts of conversations resulting from telephone interceptions obtained during more than a year of investigation were presented. For their part, the defense lawyers presented a total of 360 pieces of documentary, testimonial and expert evidence.
The investigation that led to Operation Fisher began in February 2020 and was supported by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). When the operation was carried out in December 2021, authorities conducted approximately 50 raids and arrested 57 people, including members of the National Police and the National Aeronaval Service (SENAN). In Operation Fisher, which was formally executed under that name in December 2021, the prosecution managed to seize 1.5 tons of drugs and some $20 million in assets, including money, luxury vehicles and properties. The prosecution proved that Jorge Luis General received drug shipments through the coasts of Colón and that, through the companies Magna Pesca and Yogimor, SA, he managed to move the narcotics in containers destined for Europe and the United States. The criminal network used residences in the community of Nueva Providencia, Colón, bordering the sea, as drug and money receiving centers. During the 2021 raids, authorities specifically located more than 10 million dollars in cash, hidden in caches at a residence in New Providence.
The investigation also revealed that the group used a Global Positioning System (GPS) to precisely locate the shipments. Furthermore, its members frequently changed the SIM cards in their phones and used encryption systems to prevent their communications from being intercepted. The reading of the sentence, in which the prison terms to be imposed will be revealed, is scheduled for October 6. Before the trial, a group of 28 defendants reached plea agreements, some with sentences exceeding 90 months in prison. Defense lawyers are considering filing appeals against the trial, because during the sessions, which began in 2025, the audios intercepted by the prosecution were not played, although their transcripts were analyzed by the court.
