crime

Special prosecutor appointed

As a result of the dramatic increasein the number of gangland-style homicides in Panama, as well as a rise in other activities related to organized crime, a prosecutor has been tapped to specifically handle these cases.

Attorney General Ana Matilde Gómez has named prosecutor Dimas Guevara head of the organized crime department.

The prosecutor will work with a special unit of the Dirección de Investigación Judicial (DIJ) and other security agencies to investigate these crimes, which are often linked to activities such as drug trafficking and arms smuggling.

The department will collaborate with authorities in Costa Rica and Colombia to handle murder cases that may involve criminal elements from those countries.

Gómez cited the recent discovery of several corpses near the Costa Rican border as one of the cases that will be handled by the organized crime unit.

According to police figures, in 2008 there have been eight executions in the border area between Costa Rica and Panama. Likewise, there have been 12 Colombians murdered in the country so far this year in what police think are related to organized crime. Gómez reported that her office has begun talks with her counterparts from Costa Rica on how the two countries will expand their cooperation on security matters, and similar discussions are planned with authorities from Colombia.