The National Penitentiary System started busing prisoners and their belongings from the La Chorrera prison to the La Joya and La Joyita prisons on Monday. Although the number of relocated prisoners is unconfirmed, there were 550 prisoners in the La Chorrera prison, which has a capacity for 250. Prison authorities made the decision to...
Sleeping Out
Commission Calls For Investigation of Penitentiary System
Panama’s Ombudsman and the Justice and Peace Commission are asking for an inquiry into last week’s riots at the La Joyita Penitenciary. Maribel Jaen, Executive Director of the Justice and Peace Commission, says that there needs to be “an official investigation by the competent authorities to verify the information” about a riot that left...
La Joya Prison Riot, 19 Injured
La Joya prisoners took advantage of yard time on Monday to vandalize the penitentiary’s cell phone jamming equipment, and a riot ensued. Prison guards reacted with pepper spray and rubber bullets, leaving 19 people injured including one prisoner in serious condition, three policemen and a probation officer. Angel Calderon, Director of the Penitentiary System...
New Cell Blocks Delivered with Plasmas and Cable
Minimum security prisoners will now have access to plasma televisions with cable service in the recently inaugurated La Joya and La Joyita penitentiary cell blocks. The three new cell blocks – two in La Joya and one La Joyita – have a capacity for 927 inmates. Each is designed with four wings and include...
Fire at Bocas del Toro Ecolodge Brings Land Dispute to Light
When Daniel Ayora returned to his Rana Verde ecolodge on Cayo de Agua island in Bocas del Toro, he found that someone had burned it to the ground. According to Ayora, an Italian-American, 80 uniformed officers arrived to the lodge to evict people from the premises, although it was not clear how the fire...
Follow Us!
