Panama President Mulino Rules out ‘Handing over Heads’ and Justifies Transferring Inmates to Coiba after La Joyita Prison Break

Seventeen days after the mass escape of 195 inmates from the La Joyita prison, President José Raúl Mulino spoke for the first time about one of the most serious incidents that occurred in the prison system during his administration. When the incident occurred, Mulino was on an official mission in Greece.

The president admitted that the escape from La Joyita prison demonstrated the collapse of the prison system, but ruled out that heads would fall.

The Transfer of Inmates to Coiba in Panama Ignored the Coiba National Park Board of Directors and Ciam

In Panama, CIAM stands for the Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (Environmental Advocacy Center). It is a non-profit environmental law organization founded in 2007, consisting of a team of lawyers and scientists dedicated to pursuing environmental justice in the country.  Their primary areas of focus include:

• Strategic Litigation: Taking public interest cases—including actions before the Supreme Court of Justice—to protect Panama’s environment and natural resources.

• Community Support: Providing free legal assistance to vulnerable communities affected by environmental degradation.

• Advocacy & Conservation: Fighting against deforestation, pesticide use, and unregulated mining operations, while promoting citizen participation and the human right to a healthy environment.

The government’s decision to transfer 29 inmates to Coiba National Park in Veraguas not only violated the legal provisions that regulate this protected area, but was also carried out without the opinion or participation of the Coiba National Park Board of Directors, the body responsible for overseeing the administration and conservation of the site.  The five municipalities with representation on the Board of Directors of Coiba National Park —Montijo, Soná, Río de Jesús, Las Palmas and Mariato— expressed their rejection of the transfer of people deprived of liberty to the archipelago, considering that the measure contradicts the conservation principles that govern the protected area.