Prison Sentences of up to 18 Years Imposed for Drug and Money Laundering Offenses in Panama’s ‘Operation Fusion’.
Operation Fusion involved a total of 20 individuals and three legal entities (corporations) that, according to the prosecution, coordinated the reception, custody, transfer and shipment of illicit substances from Tocumen International Airport.
Panama: The Oral Trial Court imposed sentences ranging from 18 to 9 years in prison on Friday to the 20 people who were convicted, following investigations carried out by the Drug Prosecutor’s Office, after Operation Fusion. Through this operation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police claimed to have dismantled a criminal structure dedicated to the transnational movement of illicit substances, which operated from the Tocumen International Airport. The highest sentences, of 18 years in prison, were imposed on Fernando Sixto Mendoza Gallardo and Basilio Leal Corbett, after the Court proved their responsibility for conspiracy to commit drug-related crimes and money laundering.
Samuel Augusto Martínez Joseph and Richard Jovani Atencio Navas were sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiracy to commit drug-related crimes. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Camargo received a 10-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit drug-related crimes. The Court also imposed 9-year sentences on Fernando Abdiel Lasso Ortega, Carlos Augusto Quezada Betancourt, Elvis Yohan Pinto González, Ezequiel Natanael Bruce McFarlane and Alexander Antonio Morales Pérez, all found guilty of conspiracy to commit drug-related crimes. T he hearing included the participation of Drug Prosecutor Joseph Díaz Calderón, representing the Public Ministry, who intervened during the reading of the sentence in the process.
Operation Fusion involved a total of 20 individuals and three legal entities (corporations) who, according to the prosecution, coordinated the reception, custody, transfer and shipment of illicit substances from Tocumen International Airport to international destinations, mainly Europe and the United States. The investigation began on February 18, 2020. The oral trial took place on June 16, 2025. In addition, during the process seven plea agreements were validated and the Public Prosecutor’s Office made two withdrawals of charges. The Court also decided to acquit Eliezer Francisco Aparicio Acevedo, Rafael Eliecer Cortez González, Joaquín Eduardo Sandoval Dyer, Luis Alberto Madrid and Mariel Alika Cárdenas Cho.
