Panama declares emergency over banana region unrest
Panama has declared an emergency in its main banana-producing region, after shops were looted and buildings vandalised in ongoing protests over a pension reform.
The government says constitutional rights will be suspended for the next five days in the north-western Bocas del Toro province.
The measure restricts freedom of movement and allows the police to make arrests without a warrant.
Troubles in the region began a month ago, when the local banana workers union joined a nationwide protest against proposed pension cuts and declared a strike.
"In the face of the disruption of order and acts of systematic violence, the state will enforce its constitutional mandate to guarantee peace," said Juan Carlos Orillac, minister of the presidency.
The measure, he added, would allow to "rescue the province" from radicals.
Protests across the Latin American nation erupted back in March over the pension reform.
In Bocas del Toro, the unrest has been largely led by workers at a Chiquita Brands banana plantation.
The confrontation escalated last month after the company sacked thousands of striking employees.
Protesters have been setting up roadblocks in the province, often clashing with police.
Earlier this week, crowds damaged one of Chiquita Brands' facilities as well as a local airport.
Panama country profile
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11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Panama declares emergency in western province after deadly pension protests
Panama has declared a state of emergency in western Bocas del Toro province, where antigovernment protesters opposing a pension reform law are accused of setting fire to a baseball stadium and of looting businesses, including a provincial airport. The protests that erupted two months ago in Bocas del Toro, a major banana-producing region, intensified this week, culminating in clashes with police that left one person dead and injured about 30 people, including several officers, police said on Friday. Presidential Minister Juan Carlos Orillac said in a news conference on Friday that the move to suspend some constitutional rights and ban public gatherings would allow the government to reestablish order and 'rescue' the province from 'radical groups', adding that the damage caused to public properties was 'unacceptable and did not represent a legitimate protest'. 'In the face of the disruption of order and acts of systematic violence, the state will enforce its constitutional mandate to guarantee peace,' he said. The measure will be in place for five days, he protesters, backed by unions and Indigenous groups across the country, have faced off with authorities over a pension reform law passed in March. Confrontations have been particularly intense in Bocas del Toro, largely led by workers at a local Chiquita banana plantation. The multinational banana giant Chiquita called the workers' strike an 'unjustified abandonment of work' and sacked thousands of employees. Those workers ultimately withdrew from the protests after they were able to negotiate the restoration of some benefits that had been removed under the March pension reform. Still, the government has said roadblocks in Bocas del Toro have yet to be lifted, though it did not directly attribute them to the Chiquita workers. The violence peaked in the city of Changuinola, Bocas del Toro's main city, on Thursday when groups of hooded individuals looted businesses and partially set fire to a baseball stadium with police officers inside, authorities said. Police said 'vandals took over' the local airport, stole vehicles belonging to car rental companies, and looted an office and a warehouse containing supplies belonging to Chiquita. Flights at the airport were still suspended on Friday. Panama's right-wing President Jose Raul Mulino has been facing protests on several fronts in recent months. Besides the pension reforms, Panamanians have also been in the streets over a deal Mulino struck with US President Donald Trump in April allowing US troops to deploy to Panamanian bases along the Panama Canal. Mulino made the concession to Trump after the US leader repeatedly threatened to 'take back' the US-built waterway. Mulino has also angered environmentalists by threatening to reopen Cobre Panama, one of Central America's biggest copper mines.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Panama declares state of emergency over deadly pension protests
Panama on Friday declared a state of emergency in western Bocas del Toro province, where anti-government protesters are accused of setting fire to a baseball stadium and of looting businesses, including a provincial airport. The protests that erupted two months ago in Bocas del Toro, a major banana-producing region, intensified this week, culminating in clashes with police that left one person dead and around 30 people, including several officers, the police said. Over 50 people were arrested over the unrest. The clashes came after a huge police contingent was deployed to try clear roads that the protesters had blocked with tree trunks for weeks. The violence peaked in the city of Changuinola on Thursday, where groups of hooded individuals looted businesses and partially set fire to a baseball stadium with police officers inside, the authorities said. The police said that "vandals" also "took over" the airport, stole vehicles belonging to car rental companies and looted an office and a warehouse containing supplies belonging to US banana giant Chiquita Brands. The minister of the presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac, said that the government had decided to declare a state of emergency and suspend constitutional guarantees" in all of Bocas del Toro, "in order to restore peace and order." He said the ban on public gatherings aimed to prevent "radical and criminal groups gathering to organize acts of violence and vandalism which endanger property and people." Right-wing President Jose Raul Mulino has been facing protests on several fronts in recent months. Chiquita workers in Bocas del Toro went on strike in late April over pension reforms adopted by Congress in April, which workers say will force them to work longer. Chiquita sacked thousands of workers over the strike. The banana growers' unions called off their protest last week in a bid to reverse the layoffs but other groups have remained at the barricades. Besides the pension reforms, Panamanians have also been in the streets over a deal Mulino struck with US President Donald Trump in April allowing US troops to deploy to Panamanian bases along the Panama Canal. Mulino made the concession to Trump after the US leader repeatedly threatened to "take back" the US-built waterway. Mulino has also angered environmentalists by threatening to reopen one of Central America's biggest copper mines. jjr/fj/cb/bgs
17 hours ago
Panama suspends constitutional protections in the northwest after destructive protests
PANAMA CITY -- Panama suspended constitutional protections, including the rights to assemble and of free movement, for five days in its northwestern Bocas del Toro province Friday after two months of protests and road blockades turned more destructive the previous night. Presidential Minister Juan Carlos Orillac said in a news conference that the move would allow the government to reestablish order and 'rescue the province' from 'radical groups.' He said the damage caused overnight was 'unacceptable and did not represent a legitimate protest.' What began as nationwide protests against changes to the social security system morphed Thursday night into people damaging the local airport and the facilities of banana giant Chiquita Brands, which fired thousands of striking workers in the province last month. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino had said at the time that the banana workers' strike was illegal and included some 5,000 workers. On May 27, the government declared a state of emergency in the province without suspending constitutional protections. Last week, the government sent some 1,500 more police to the province with the objective clearing protest roadblocks. Security Minister Frank Abrego left open the possibility of sending more on Friday. But actions by masked people authorities described as criminals overnight led Mulino to announce Thursday night that he would meet with his Cabinet Friday to take action. The perpetrators forced their way into the airport in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro's main city, where they vandalized cars and started a fire in the local baseball stadium. They sacked Chiquita's shuttered facility and destroyed a local office of the National Civil Defense Service. Flights at the airport were still suspended Friday. Protests, marches and occasional roadblocks have stretched from one end of the country to the other as teachers, construction workers and other unions rejected changes the government said were necessary to keep the social security system solvent. Demonstrations have occasionally turned violent, but the forced entrance of people to the airport and banana facility overnight triggered Friday's government reaction. Earlier this month, Mulino brought in a Catholic archbishop and a rabbi to act as mediators with protesters. Last week, Panama's Congress approved a new law for the banana sector that was part of an agreement to end the strike by protecting workers' benefits like medical assistance and labor protections under the new social security regime.
