Caribbean & Central America - January 2026

In late November Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino revealed plans to introduce a new anti-mafia law designed to better combat organised crime, less than two weeks after security services made the biggest cocaine seizure in the country’s history.

President Mulino said on 20 November that he wanted to overhaul the country’s legal framework, criticising existing laws as insufficient and outdated. He said he would seek advice from governments such as the US, France and Italy as part of these efforts. He also lambasted the country’s judiciary for what he said were lenient sentences handed down to dangerous criminals, saying that judges were making the fight against organised crime more difficult. “This battle against gangs, drug trafficking, and organised crime cannot be flexible with these convicted criminals,” he said. “The fight against drug trafficking and crime cannot be the sole responsibility of the security forces; we also need the commitment of society and the support of the judicial system”.

On 5 December Mulino doubled down on this criticism after a judge granted house arrest to César Caicedo, a suspected drug trafficker. Caicedo had been arrested on 3 December along with seven others in a high-profile operation codenamed ‘Nodriza’ in line with an investigation launched in 2023 into a criminal group accused of trafficking drugs in Panamá and Panamá Oeste provinces. Although the prisoner reportedly suffers from a heart condition that needs specialised medical attention, Mulino used the case to renew his calls for harsher penalties. “Stop being lenient with the most heinous criminals,” he said.

This escalating rhetoric against drug traffickers and organised crime follows a record 13.5 tonne seizure of drugs, widely reported as cocaine, which occurred on 9 November on a tugboat in the Pacific Ocean. It was hailed as evidence of success in cracking down on drug trafficking, after Public Security Minister Frank Ábrego announced an “inter-institutional offensive” aimed at dismantling criminal networks that use containers to transport narcotics from Panama’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts in early September [SSR-25-10].

However, it has also highlighted longstanding concerns about high-level corruption facilitating these transits. On 12 November, Panama’s maritime chamber (CMP), which represents Panama’s maritime, logistics, and port industry, announced that one of its directors, Pablo Torres, had temporarily stepped down amid claims that he owned the tugboat in question – claims he has rejected. The seizure, and speculation surrounding Torres’ possible involvement, highlight the scale of the task facing Mulino in breaking up criminal networks that have become adept at taking advantage of the huge number of containers and other ocean freight that pass through the country’s ports. 

US response

The 9 November operation was hailed by the US embassy which noted that it had been supported by US law enforcement through intelligence sharing. It said that this seizure from one day’s operation is 10% of the typical annual seizure in Panama by the US and Panama.

Odebrecht trial delayed again

The trial for one of the biggest corruption cases in Panama’s history, involving the alleged receipt of US$59m in bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht – since renamed Novonor – has been delayed once again. The case implicates major political figures including former president Ricardo Martinelli (Cambio Democrático, 2009-2014), who was granted political asylum in Colombia last year, as well as former president Juan Carlos Varela (Partido Panameñista, 2014-2019), who enjoys immunity from prosecution as a member of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen). Due to start on 11 November, the trial was postponed after the judicial branch said it hadn’t been able to notify one of the defendants in Colombia, in what is thought to be a reference to Martinelli. The trial is now scheduled to run from 12 January-13 February.