187 Recaptured Inmates After Panama’s La Joyita Prison Escape
The National Police reported that they have recaptured 187 of the 195 inmates who escaped from La Joyita Penitentiary Center, leaving 8 fugitives still at large and a reward offered of $4000 per escapee. According to the institution, among the latest captured is Luis Pino Araúz, who was located in the Invasión de Villa Antigua sector, in Juan Demóstenes Arosemena, Arraiján, after an alert about the presence of a suspicious person in a vacant lot. The National Police reported that the inmate was found inside a latrine, lying on a mattress. At the time of his escape, which occurred on June 1st, he was being held for homicide.
On June 1, 2026, 195 inmates escaped from the La Joyita Penitentiary Center in Panama City during a major riot. Triggered by clashes between rival gangs and rumors of prisoner transfers, the chaos left three inmates dead and exposed severe security flaws, with prisoners destroying 46 security cameras. The breakout, one of the largest in the country’s recent memory, prompted an immediate lockdown and the launch of “Operation Cerrojo” by the National Police, SENAFRAN, and SENAN. Within weeks, the vast majority of the escapees were recaptured, bringing the number of fugitives to 8 still on the loose. The incident was described by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino as a systemic collapse, triggering a broader government response, including transferring high-risk inmates to the remote Coiba Island.
