77-year-old man arrested for fatally shooting two protesters blocking road in Panama

A 77-year-old man was arrested after he fatally shot two environmentalists blocking a road during a protest as the elderly driver attempted to get past the demonstration. Anti-government protests have gripped Panama for almost three weeks now due to a lucrative mining contract.

About the fatal shooting

The officials arrested the alleged shooter in the Chame district which is some 80 kilometres west of Panama City, police said on X, without giving any more information about the perpetrator. The incident marked the first fatalities in protests that broke out on October 20.

Images and videos of the shooting circulating on social media show a man opening fire on people blocking the Pan-American Highway, which links Panama to the rest of Central America.

The suspect, later identified as 77-year-old Kenneth Darlington, is a lawyer and professor who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Panama, reported Newsroom Panama and AFP.

The man was reportedly heard saying “this ends here” before he walked up to the roadblock and got into a heated argument with a group of men which included the two victims. Subsequently, the 77-year-old before a large crowd of photographers and reporters there to cover the protest, allegedly shot two men.

The victims were identified as Abdiel Diaz, a teacher, who died at the scene, according to the police, and the other Ivan Rodriguez who died shortly after reaching the hospital.

Darlington was remanded in custody after appearing before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Wednesday (Nov 9) afternoon. A lawyer for the victims told the local media that the 77-year-old was charged with murder and illegal possession of a gun.

Thousands of Panamanians and weeks-long protests

The incident took place as thousands of Panamanians over the past few weeks have taken to the streets in protest of a new mining contract signed with Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals which has spilt into wider discontent with the government.

The protests are said to be organised by a prominent construction union alongside teachers’ unions following the government’s decision to fast-track the contract in question which would allow the Canada-based company to operate an open-pit copper mine amidst a biodiverse jungle west of the capital.

The contract would allow First Quantum Minerals to operate the region’s largest pit copper mine for at least 20 years, with an option to extend for another two decades, in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama.

The roadblocks set up by protesters, according to Panama’s Association of Company Executives, have cost $80 million in daily losses to businesses. Additionally, schools across Panama have been closed for over a week and more than 150,000 medical appointments have been missed, reported Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies)