The Colombian citizen who was piloting the boat now faces a charge of negligent homicide.
As a precautionary measure, a Colombian citizen was ordered to report weekly to the Office of the Ombudsman in Santa Isabel, Costa Arriba de Colón. This measure was imposed in connection with the sinking of a boat in which a 3-year-old migrant girl died.
Recall that this incident occurred on the morning of November 9, when a small boat departed from the dock in the community of Miramar, Santa Isabel district, with 22 Venezuelan migrants. On the way, at the mouth of a river, waves capsized the vessel, leaving all migrants in the water. It was there that the 3-year-old child died by drowning.
Mack Anthony, the defense attorney, informed upon leaving the hearing that there was no justification for his client, who was an assistant on the boat, to be detained, "because the person in charge of any vehicle is the one who drives it".
During the hearing on this Tuesday, November 11, at the headquarters of the Accusatory Penal System in Colón, a Colombian citizen and a Panamanian citizen appeared; as a result, the Panamanian, who served as an assistant, was acquitted of this incident.
Now it is up to the Public Ministry to investigate the fact, for which it will have a period of six months to do so.
Meanwhile, Michael Palacios, head of operations for the SENAN, announced that during the review at the AMP, it was verified that the vessel did not have permission to transport people as such, but in the documentation it was only for artisanal fishing, and in addition, the permit had expired.
