New report raises death and injury figures for Bocas del Toro confrontation

Widely different figures for the deaths and injuries in the recent confrontations between police and strikers in Bocas del Toro were presented on Wednesday by Human Rights Everywhere, a human rights NGO that has been in Panama for seven years.
The agency gave an updated report listing a total of 492 cases, including dead, wounded, and arrested, during the protests in Changuinola between July 7-11, In addition, research by the organization on the ground and the testimonies of family members indicate the death of at least four people.
Apart from the deaths of Antonio Smith and Virgilio Castillo, the organization said that Rubén Becker and Leandro Santos died on July 11 from tear gas used by police.
Three others – Einar Quintero, Marcelina Carpintero, and Florinda Peña – also died during these days for reasons that could be related to the events reported by local NGOs. However, in their report, Human Rights Everywhere was not able to locate the families of said persons to obtain more information.
One striker who was arrested by police has disappeared.
Meanwhile, 312 were injured by pellets and 124 suffered effects caused by tear gas during demonstrations against the controversial Law 30.