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Violence in Panama: Retired Police Officer Killed with his own Gun

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Posted 18/06/2024

The crime occurred in a bar in the town of Pacora, bringing the number of homicides reported over the weeked to 11. 

In the shadow of the night, a tragedy took place at the El Guarapillo Bar, located in the Cabra sector, Pacora district, where Juan Miguel Cuevas Melgarejo, a 54-year-old retired lieutenant of the National Police, met a violent end.  At 1:00 am on Monday, June 17, two shots rang out that sealed his fate. 

The assailant, in a ruthless act, snatched the victim’s bag which was protecting his weapon and without hesitation shot him, leaving fatal wounds on his chest and left side, a police source detailed.  The former lieutenant was transferred to the Irma De Lourdes Tzanetatos Hospital, where he died at 2:45 in the morning. 

This act is nothing more than the reflection of a crisis that mercilessly plagues the provinces of Panama, Panama Oeste and Colon, adding Cuevas Melgaerjo to the growing list of victims.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/violence-in-panama-retired-police-officer-killed-with-his-own-gun

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  • Moderator_03 changed the title to Violence & Murders in Panama
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Nine Murders in Panama this Weekend

 August 20, 2024

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Panama experienced a weekend marked by violence, with a total of nine murders in different parts of the country, raising the number of homicides in August to 38.  Gun violence ranged from shootings in bars and clandestine cockfighting arenas to personal disputes that ended in tragedy. 

Around 10:00 pm, the peaceful quiet of the Burunga district was interrupted by a shooting outside a barbershop in the 13 de Febrero sector.  A man, who had returned to live in the area a few weeks ago, was ambushed by a gunman while he was talking to other people.  The shots hit him squarely, leaving him seriously injured. 

At 3:00 a.m., the community of Las Lajas de Tolé woke up to the news of the brutal murder of 75-year-old Eladio Cruz Bonilla.  The elderly man, who had attended a party, was intercepted on his way home and stabbed multiple times.  According to witnesses, the attack was motivated by jealousy, as the attacker suspected that Eladio had an affair with his wife. 

Early Monday morning, Jean Carlos Castillo Cruz, 18, was beaten to death in Dubi Alley, in the Llano Apóstol sector, Río Grande, Penonomé, Coclé province.  According to authorities, two unidentified men attacked him along with his brother, who survived, but could not give a clear description of the attackers.  Hours before the attack, both had been involved in a fight at a local bar, which is believed to have motivated the brutal attack. 

https://newsroompanama.com/2024/08/20/nine-murders-in-panama-this-weekend/

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Former Official of MINSA Sentenced to 27 Years for the Murder of a Moneylender and Race Car Driver 

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 September 27, 2024

Carlos Cabrera Tello, a former official of the Ministry of Health (MINSA), was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the murder of moneylender and race car driver Abel Augusto Gallardo Castañeda.  The sentence was read out this past Friday, September 27, at the facilities of the Accusatory Criminal System located in Chitré, province of Herrera, during a hearing presided over by the judges of the oral trial court Ruth García (president), Daniel Samaniego and Rosa Chamorro.  Abel Augusto Gallardo Castañeda was  considered a loan shark and a race car driver.  On August 3 in Chitre he was found dead of gunshots in a car.  Police and prosecutors say that it was about a debt owed to Gallardo. The murder of Abel Augusto Gallardo Castañeda uncovered the clandestine business that uses payment for so-called extraordinary medical shifts in the public health system as a guarantee. Discussion of the man accused of killing Gallardo and jailed without bail on a murder charge is one Carlos Cabrera Tello.

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The homicide prosecutor of the province of Herrera, Edilma Flores, said that in the reading of the sentence an accessory penalty of 10 years of disqualification from exercising public functions was also established once the main sentence has been served.  Flores revealed that he had requested a 30-year sentence for the former official, but the trial court assigned 27 years. The range of the sentence goes from 20 to 30 years, he clarified. He added that the convicted man was placed under the orders of the Judge of Guarantees and the Penitentiary System, which will decide where he should serve his sentence.  The murder of Abel Augusto Gallardo Castañeda uncovered the clandestine business that uses payment for so-called extraordinary medical shifts in the public health system as a guarantee.  On August 3, 2023, Cabrera Tello shot Gallardo Castañeda twice, causing his death. The incident occurred in Chitré, Herrera, when Cabrera and Gallardo were inside a pick-up truck, the same vehicle that the perpetrator used to transport the body and surrender to the police.

https://newsroompanama.com/2024/09/27/former-official-of-minsa-sentenced-to-27-years-for-the-murder-of-a-moneylender-and-race-car-driver/

 

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