A retired American lawyer has been arrested on suspicion of shooting dead two environmental protesters blocking a road in Panama in an attack caught on camera.
Kenneth Darlington, 77, appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Wednesday afternoon.
Darlington, who has dual US and Panamanian citizenship, was being charged with murder and illegal possession of a gun, local media reported.
Footage captured by news photographers who were covering the protest appeared to show a man with grey hair and glasses casually approaching the blockade on the Pan-American Highway and waving his finger while arguing with the demonstrators — before pulling out a gun and allegedly opening fire.
The footage showed the man taking a pistol out of his trouser pocket before starting to clear the barricade on the motorway, while still arguing with the demonstrators.
One can be heard saying “Why don’t you shoot?” Moments later, he allegedly opens fire.
A first victim fell to the ground immediately. A second can be seen holding his shoulder, grimacing in pain.
Police confirmed that one of the victims, Abdiel Díaz, a teacher, died at the scene. The other, Iván Rodríguez, died shortly afterwards in hospital.
Darlington was arrested at the scene.
The Panama-born US citizen reportedly lived in the high-end Paitilla district of Panama City and had been ‘"running errands’"when he came across the protesters.
For weeks, protesters have been marching against a government agreement that plans to keep Panama’s largest open-pit copper mine operating for two more decades in a sensitive environmental area.Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo said in a statement on X: "I express my condolences to the families of the two citizens who lost their lives in an incident that occurred this Tuesday in a sector of Panama Oeste.
"This is a crime that has no place in a society called to be supportive like ours."
