Panama’s César Caicedo is Transferred from Coiba Prison to Santo Tomás Hospital.
César Caicedo pictured below was charged with the alleged crime of conspiracy to traffic drugs.
From hospital to jail and from jail to hospital: this has been the last week for César Caicedo, one of those arrested in the anti-narcotics operation Nodriza. To better understand this journey, it should be noted that Caicedo has been in pretrial detention for 10 months: his arrest occurred on December 4, 2026. However, for the last four months he has been confined to a private hospital, because his lawyer alleged health problems. That situation took a turn last week.
On Monday September 28, the Superior Court of Appeals revoked the hospital deposit measure that Caicedo was serving at the San Fernando Hospital and ordered his transfer to a prison, considering that his health condition was stable and he could be treated by medical personnel of the Penitentiary System. The following day, Tuesday, he was transferred to the base that the National Aeronaval Service (Senan) operates on Coiba Island, where 29 of the prisoners considered to be highly dangerous remain.
In the Nodriza Operation, the Prosecutor’s Office Seized Several Luxury Cars.
But last Sunday, Caicedo had to be transferred by Senan personnel to the Santo Tomás Hospital because he allegedly suffered a relapse in his health condition. Caicedo’s lawyers are requesting that their client be granted house arrest and the application of a tracking device (or electronic bracelet), so that he can recover from his ailments and so that the authorities can be certain of his location at all times. Last week, during the hearing before the Court of Appeals, lawyer Eliécer Pliscett argued that Caicedo was recovering from surgery and that doctors had ordered him to follow a special diet and constant monitoring of his condition. The prosecution has opposed Caicedo’s hospital detention. Caicedo has been under hospital custody since May 20th and during this time he was in the Santo Tomás, Brisas del Golf and San Fernando hospitals.
The Prosecution’s Version.
Drug prosecutor William Granados has indicated that Caicedo has been evading the court’s decision to grant him temporary house arrest in exchange for his return to prison as soon as he recovered from his health problems. Granados detailed that Caicedo was linked to at least four events related to drug seizures in the Panama West area. Due to the seriousness of these allegations, he has already been charged by a judge.
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Caicedo was held in hospital detention for four months.
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In Operation Nodriza, the Drug Prosecutor’s Office seized two tons of drugs.
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A total of eight people were apprehended during the raids carried out in West Panama.
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The operation resulted in the seizure of several properties and luxury cars.
According to the prosecution, the group linked to Caicedo used boats to move drugs that were later hidden in residences in the district of Arraiján (Panama West) and then put into modified vehicles to later take them out of the country. In this case, the preventive detention of five other people was ordered, who are linked to said drug trafficking network and maintain some degree of kinship.
