The National Secretariat for Childhood, Adolescence and Family (Senniaf) reported this Sunday, April 5, on the escape of three teenagers from a private shelter. This event once again puts the spotlight on the situation of child protection centers in the country. According to the entity, upon learning of the escape, search protocols were immediately activated in coordination with the relevant authorities. As a result of these actions, one of the minors has already been located, while operations continue to find the other two teenagers. The institution announced in a statement that in the coming hours, the Amber Alert will be activated to expand the search and facilitate the location of the remaining minors. From this group, the entity reported that five minors have already been located. The second incident occurred on March 30, when again there were disorders protagonized by a group of teenagers, which even compromised the safety and integrity of children, adolescents, and administrative staff. Faced with this panorama, the director of Senniaf, Lilibeth Antonia Cárdenas, explained on April 1 that these acts were carried out by a minority group of teenagers who engaged in violent and criminal behavior. She assured that those involved in the mentioned events “have crossed all the lines… they have vandalized offices, have barricaded the staff, have stolen, have damaged state property, have threatened to burn their colleagues alive inside their houses, and have introduced illicit substances.” The official recognized that these actions, carried out by a minority population, contaminate the rest and go against the institution's mission to protect children and adolescents in situations of vulnerability. In addition, she called on citizens to collaborate with any information that contributes to their prompt location. This event occurs amid recent complaints about the shelter system in Panama. In recent weeks, two serious episodes have been recorded within a state shelter, which has sounded the alarms about the conditions and care model in these centers. The first incident was recorded on March 24 at the Comprehensive Care Center (CAI) in Tocumen, where 15 minors escaped the facilities after causing several disturbances.
