Panama: Concern over violent repression against Ngäbe-Buglé Indigenous communities amid social protests
Front Line Defenders expresses grave concern over the excessive use of force and escalating repression against Indigenous communities in Panama, particularly in the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca and Darién province. The violence and repression occured in the context of the protests opposing Law 462, the potential reopening of the Cobre Panamá mine, and the memorandum of understanding between Panama and the United States. Violent raids, pellet gunfire, arbitrary detentions, and acts of criminalisation targeting Indigenous human rights defenders as well as land and environmental defenders have been documented.
In May 2025, Ngäbe-Buglé Indigenous communities in Ojo de Agua, El Piro Trinidad, Viguí, Tolé, El Prado, San Félix, and Horconcito were subjected to repressive operations. On 14 May, incursions by the National Border Service (Senafront) were reported in residential areas, including the use of tear gas inside homes, schools, and churches, beatings of relatives, and house-to-house persecutions. The following days were marked by deliberate power cuts, drone and helicopter surveillance of community gatherings, pellet gunfire, use of firearms, and an unprecedented military presence that, as reported by local defenders, had not been witnessed even during the military dictatorship.
In recent weeks, the protests spanned a diverse range of social segments, including students, unions, fishers, and campesinos. However, the violence directed at Indigenous communities is especially alarming. The situation in the Ngäbe-Buglé Indigenous territory is particularly complex as the lack of prior consultation and disregard for Indigenous rights have led to policies that violate fundamental rights and criminalise those opposing the reopening of the Cobre Panamá mine.
On 15 May, Caleb Bejarano was seriously injured by a gunshot to the abdomen during a peaceful protest. He is a Ngäbe Indigenous student at the University of Panama and relative of Mary Acosta Pinilla, an Indigenous human rights defender and member of Mujeres Indígenas sobre la Biodiversidad Lac. The shot, allegedly fired by the National Police, caused severe injuries requiring three emergency surgeries and intensive care. On 5 May, human rights defender and poet Esteban Binns Carpintero was arbitrarily detained by Senafront while documenting a peaceful protest in Tolé. Although he was released, this incident marked the beginning of a growing trend of criminalising those exercising the right to defend human rights.
On 27 May 2025, the Panamanian government declared a state of emergency in the province of Bocas del Toro, intensifying militarisation in the bordering Chiriquí and Veraguas provinces and the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca. This led to a heightened deployment of Senafront agents, National Police, and naval air units, alongside constant surveillance helicopters and drone flights. Security forces have obstructed community meetings and intimidated rural populations through raids, arbitrary detentions, and disproportionate use of force.
Simultaneously, the Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants against Indigenous authorities, including Elivardo Membache, General Chief of Collective Lands of Darién, and substitute chief Lucrecia Caisamo, who both voluntarily turned themselves in. Indigenous organisations have denounced these actions as attempts to criminalise social protest and dismantle legitimate community demands. Front Line Defenders continues to receive reports of further arbitrary detentions and physical abuse against people in the communities.
The trigger for the nationwide mobilisations was the approval of Law 462, reforming the social security system without prior consultation, as well as efforts by the Panamanian Executive Power to reactivate the Cobre Panamá mining project, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2023 and widely rejected during the 2023 national protests. Concern has also been raised over the memorandum of understanding signed between Panama and the United States in April 2025, which would allow increased U.S. military presence in Panama.
Despite the lack of official recognition of these abuses, the Ombudsman’s Office, as an autonomous public institution, reported that six national investigations into possible human rights violations remain open. These investigations are in the process of gathering evidence and form part of a preliminary report with recommendations based on the monitoring carried out to date.
Front Line Defenders underlines that the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and human rights defense are protected by international treaties ratified by Panama. The excessive use of force and institutional violence by the State, particularly against Indigenous peoples leading the defense of Indigenous, territorial, and environmental rights, is a deliberate strategy to inhibit human rights defense and constitutes a serious human rights violation by the Panamanian State.
Front Line Defenders calls on Panamanian authorities to guarantee the exercise of human rights defense and immediately cease all forms of repression against Indigenous communities and those defending the environment and territory, and to adopt effective protection measures and dialogue.
