The possible extradition to Panama of Ali Zaki Hage Jalil, the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attack on flight 901 of the Panamanian airline Alas Chiricanas in 1994, is in a decisive phase. It was learned that Panama, in February of this year, presented evidence to the Venezuelan judiciary to achieve the extradition of the implicated individual. Additionally, the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela is about to summon the parties for the respective hearing. Panama faces an obstacle in this process: the implicated individual holds dual nationality, Lebanese and Venezuelan, and the Constitution of Venezuela prohibits the extradition of its nationals. After being a fugitive for over three decades, Venezuelan authorities arrested Ali Zaki Hage Jalil last November on Margarita Island. He is accused of being one of the individuals involved in the attack on flight 901 of Alas Chiricanas, which occurred in 1994 and claimed the lives of 21 people. The arrest was carried out by agents of Interpol Venezuela, in coordination with Panamanian judicial authorities, who had issued an international alert for his location and apprehension. The attack, recorded on July 19, 1994, marked one of the most tragic episodes in Panamanian aviation history. The plane, which had taken off from Colón, exploded mid-flight, and since then, investigations pointed to a possible terrorist act. The apprehension of Hage Jalil revives a case that remained in impunity for years and that could now open a new judicial chapter in the search for justice for the victims.
