Suntracs Leaders are Accused of Money Laundering and Fraud. The Prosecution will Present the Evidence.

The leader of the Single Union of Construction and Similar Workers (Suntracs), Genaro Lopez, will face a preliminary hearing on October 5 for the alleged crimes of money laundering, document forgery and fraud, for the alleged appropriation of 14 properties of the Red Frog project, located in the province of Bocas del Toro.  In its indictment, presented by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime, the application of the maximum penalty is requested for each of the crimes imputed to the union leader, which could reach up to 30 years in prison.  Also implicated in this case are Suntracs leaders Saúl Méndez pictured below and Erasmo Cerrud pictured below Saúl Méndez. Méndez obtained asylum in Bolivia and later moved to Venezuela, while Cerrud sought political asylum in Nicaragua, and therefore neither is present at the legal proceedings. Méndez is currently outside the country, and Cerrud is under Nicaraguan protection.

López remains under a precautionary measure of periodic reporting and the use of an electronic bracelet. This measure was established in February 2026, when a judge replaced house arrest with periodic reporting, while maintaining the electronic bracelet.  The preliminary hearing in this case, scheduled for July 23, was postponed. During this hearing, both the prosecution and defense attorneys are to present the evidence they will use at trial. The hearing has been rescheduled for October 5, at which time the court will decide whether the evidence will be admitted and if the case will proceed to trial.  In this phase, the judge of guarantees must decide which of the evidence presented is relevant to the trial and which should be excluded, but this hearing was suspended and rescheduled for October 5. 

Antonio Vargas, from the Suntracs legal team, argued that in this case the Prosecutor’s Office has not proven the existence of the crimes of money laundering or falsification imputed to López.  Vargas argued that this is a labor or civil dispute, which in any case should be resolved in those jurisdictions, but that the government used it as a tool of political persecution against Suntracs.  On May 14, Judge Jazmín Jaén dismissed a request from the Prosecutor’s Office to extend the investigation period for another year and considered that the Prosecutor’s Office should comply with the investigation period. 

The investigation into this case began in 2022, following a complaint filed by Suntracs workers regarding the alleged appropriation of the properties. In August 2025, Judge Sheryl Toullier ruled the seizure of the 14 properties legal, a decision later upheld by the Superior Court of Appeals.  The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Genaro Lopez pictured below, Saul Mendez and Erasmo Cerrud of the alleged appropriation of 14 properties belonging to Suntracs workers who worked on the Red Frog real estate project in Bocas del Toro. 

The farms were given to the workers as compensation, after a labor dispute with the company Pillar Construction, SA (which later changed its name to Bastimentos Holding).  Pillar Construction was ordered to pay $7 million in back wages, but the company reached an out-of-court settlement with the workers, represented by the Suntracs union, to hand over the 14 properties, which at the time were valued at $3 million. The 2011 labor court ruling stipulated a payment of approximately $7 million to 412 workers on the Red Frog project, including severance pay and legal costs.

1

The leader of Suntracs, Genaro López, enjoys a precautionary measure of periodic reporting.

2

In the case of Saúl Méndez, the Bolivian government granted him political asylum.

3

While Erasmo Cerrud was searching, it was reported that he is in Nicaragua.

According to the investigation, Suntracs leaders used the properties as collateral for a purported mortgage loan from the Suntracs Multi-Service Cooperative. It was later discovered that, because the cooperative lacked sufficient funds to provide the mortgage, Suntracs itself lent the money. According to information presented during the proceedings, the loan was for $3 million.  However, Antonio Vargas, lawyer for Suntracs, argues that the charges brought against the members of that union group are unfounded, since the original process was due to a labor dispute, which was settled in the courts of Bocas del Toro.

The Red Frog Residential and Tourist Pproject is Located on Bastimentos Island, Bocas del Toro.

He argued that this case has been used as an element of political persecution by the government, which has tried to dismantle Suntracs and other trade union organizations.