Once a year, every July 19, we went to mass in El Javier with other Catholic family members, we prayed for our deceased, and that was our only action. The day before, a bomb had exploded at the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people, and the next day was the attack in Panama. But the Argentine people were the flame that inspired us to organize in Panama. What is known today is that they were linked. At what point do the authorities begin to treat this as a terrorist attack? I was 18 years old and went to study in the United States. Last week in Ecuador, they had a person linked to Hezbollah in custody. The initiative to organize came from members of the Jewish community who went to the 25th anniversary of AMIA and saw that in Argentina, people have a very strong voice to demand justice. A friend said that in Argentina, for things that we don't even pay attention to here in Panama, there they burn a police station. And they had a larger critical mass: 85 died at AMIA; in Panama, there were 20 victims. There was an information vacuum that lasted 25 years. What did you decide to think about what had happened? I quickly came to the conclusion that it was a terrorist attack, but that was not the same conclusion everyone reached. For me, what has felt incredibly valuable is that in Panama we have a system that can conclude an investigation like this, and I say one because where there is one, there are others, with the hope that all those who had to do with this attack face justice. You mentioned that Panama is a country of peace, but sometimes that makes us disconnect from what happens to other communities in the world. How do you see that distance we take here? We are very good at moving forward. And now I can see that I do feel peace, that there can be justice, that moments like this can be prevented so that no one else has to live through something like this. It was a very emotional event where, for the first time, 25 years after the attack, all the relatives gathered. The light for me is to keep the voice of those who no longer have a voice and to have the Panama we dream of. Nobody knew what was going on. How were those first moments? Terribly confusing. Panama is not isolated. What do you take with you and what would you leave to the people from this experience? For 25 years my question was: what purpose can a tragedy like this have? It is about what Panama am I leaving to my children. What did you see in those investigations? In Panama, we are very good at turning the page. I personally did not expect it. I was only 18 and living with my grandfather. I didn't see that light that one sees behind the dark clouds. That the extradition of a Venezuelan citizen from Venezuela to face justice for a terrorist act in Panama was unthinkable. I remember that the bag in which my grandfather was supposedly was not him; that kind of thing that one doesn't even imagine, the smells in a morgue when there are so many dead who had already been there for a day. One has to put oneself in the shoes of others. But at first, it was not known that it had been a terrorist attack; it had simply been an explosion. And regarding Hezbollah: at the same time, the war was going on. That was not known until the next day, when the relatives went to pick up our loved ones at the morgue. Did it touch you then? It touched me, at 18, I went to the morgue. He lent me his car because he was preparing me to go to university in the United States that same year, and that day I left him at the airport and never saw him again. There were two aircraft returning to Panama at similar times, and the people did not know if their loved one was on one or the other. The US government got involved through the FBI; my grandfather was American and Panamanian. We never asked anything. The news has been excellent. How was it for you to receive that news? My grandfather is in his casket at the Sanctuary. Because it is not about my grandfather: I can go visit my grandfather at the Sanctuary. The relatives did not receive more information. We experienced that with the invasion theme: many felt that it took a long time to proclaim a day of mourning. A few months later we had clarity: there was a loose end. If there was a bomb that exploded and a person was not claimed, well, there was the answer. There was a group that claimed responsibility for the attack, but apparently it was not them. President Varela has said publicly that anonymous heroes from the FBI helped provide enough information to reopen the case 25 years later. Ana Karina, I was very young when this happened. I also know it because there is a film, by my filmmaker friend Abner Benaim, about it. During that time, did the relatives do anything to keep pressure on the case? We lived this entire experience in solitude. It was not until 25 years later that the light came: Prime Minister Netanyahu informed President Varela that Israel had additional information to share with Panama. What happened in that time frame? Being the granddaughter of James Cain, one of the victims of the Alas Chiricanas attack, perhaps you can give me a context of how this was and what it meant to you. It was the most terrible day one can imagine. I visit him when it occurs to me. But precisely for that reason, the certainty of punishment is important. We did not know that until much later. And that plane was carrying several Jewish businessmen, right? There were 12 Jewish passengers on that flight. These groups are still moving in the region. That morning I took him to the Paitilla airport. My own mother still sometimes says 'the accident'. Although James Cain was my grandfather, he was really like a father-grandfather. And now what is in the newspapers is that the supposed mastermind has been found, who had been in Venezuela. For my brother, who was present, it was a before and after. What officially confirms that it was a Hezbollah attack is the information that President Varela receives from Prime Minister Netanyahu, right? For the first time, it was known that it was Hezbollah and that for us was very powerful information. Originally, they had not been able to extradite him, and finally, very recently, they have had the opportunity to do so. Correct, he is in the process of being extradited. It was a management by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the relatives are very grateful for. Almost at the beginning of the return flight, over the Santa Rita Arriba area, the aircraft exploded due to a suicide bomber who detonated a bomb on board. And to put it in context: this was a regional event, an attack in two countries. The pain is so great that looking at the truth becomes very difficult. The chancellor has been extremely empathetic with us, with direct communication by WhatsApp, in person. There was no clarity on who had truly been the mastermind. That's right. My father is a radio amateur and was one of the first to know that a plane had exploded, because he heard it on the radio frequencies. You left him at the Paitilla airport and then he went to Colón, right? My grandfather traveled regularly to the Free Zone, to the company he founded, which is called JCain. From there emerged the leadership of wonderful people like David Djemal, Linda Cohen, and Alberto Levy.
