CRIME WAVE

Colon the murder capital of region

The killings escalate in the Atlantic town, but in Panama too violence is surging, with the latest expatriate death near Parque Omar

IRLANDA SOTILLO
isotillo@laestrella.com.pa

The seminar was attended by heads of state from the region.

The crime incidence figures, that resulted from the results comparison, were not very flattering, because the city of Colon, according to the statistics, has the higher rate homicides in Latin America.

The final report made public on Sunday by the Minister of Government and Justice, Dilio Arcia, said that the City of Colon is the most violent in the hemisphere

The reason is simple, Colon surpassed the number of homicides per capita committed in Mexico. In the Atlantic city there were 33 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, in Mexico “there ”onl” 27 homicides.

According to the latest statistics, in 2008 there were 652 homicides in the country, of which 114 took place in Colon.

Arcia said that the murders are a direct consequence of violence among the gangs, that are always ready to settle scores and take revenge.

In around 80 percent of the cases firearms were used in homicides.

The report caused concern to the government and surprise the police forces, because even in Bogota, the index of violence is lower than Colon and statistically Colombia as a country is less dangerous than Panama.

Arcia tried to justify the figures by saying that the majority of those crimes were drug related. “Although Panama is not a drug producer country it is becoming a drug consumer. ”

The study also showed that the majority of people in prison are around 30 years old and two thirds of them confessed to starting a life of crime at the age of 12

This means that children that abandon school at the age of 12 become part of gangs.

The authorities want to attack this, because school absenteeism is the first sigh of delinquency.

Another example of criminal behavior in Panama is aggravated robberies resulting in murder.

Last Wednesday January 14, Manuel Machin Ramos a Spaniard entrepreneur was kidnapped in San Francisco and his body was later found close to the Parque Omar.

After investigating the case, auxiliary prosecutor, Luis Martinez said that a municipal employ was involved and even used a government vehicle to commit the crime.

The prosecutor said that the motive of the homicide was a robbery gone wrong, but he did not reveal the names of the alleged culprits who were captured in Pacora and Curundu.

Publicidad