He President of Panama, Jose Raul Mulinoannounced this Thursday that it will impose a curfew in two areas of the country to “clean up” the streets of the ndrug trafficking and crime.
According to the criteria of
The measure that prevents the free movement of the population will applyand “nine at night to five or six in the morning” in the Caribbean province of Colón and in the populous district of San Miguelito, adjacent to the Panamanian capital, he said.
“I hope there is a curfew in those two places because they are perhaps the areas most affected by this gang issue. Drug trafficking has changed the entire criminal structure“the president said at his weekly press conference.
Mulino did not specify the date on which this measure will come into effect.
The curfew “is the only way we have, in relative peace, to be able to clean up our own streets, avenues and more remote areas,” Mulino added.
Crime figures in Panama
In recent weeks, dozens of people have been arrested in Panama, including police officers and the son of a lawmaker, for their alleged links to gangs or drug trafficking.
The measure, which prevents the free movement of the population, will be in effect from “nine at night to five or six in the morning” in the Caribbean province of Colon and in the populous district of San Miguelito, adjacent to the Panamanian capital, he said.
According to authorities, these gangs traffic drugs and launder money from drug trafficking.Furthermore, the majority of homicides in the country are related to these criminal associations.
Mulino also said that during his time as Minister of Security during the government of former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), seizing a ton of drugs “was an occasional occurrence,” while now “it’s practically an everyday occurrence.”
In 2023, Panama seized 119 tons of drugs, lower than the record of 138 tons in 2022.
So far this year, Panamanian authorities have seized more than 50 tons.
Panama, like the rest of Central America, serves as a transit point for cocaine from South America, mainly from Colombia, which is sent to the United States, the world’s largest consumer of this drug.
In recent months, drug seizures have also increased in Panamanian Caribbean ports, destined for Europe.
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