The criminal will be formally handed over to the Panamanian authorities in the coming weeks. Investigations, reinforced in 2017 by FBI and Israeli intelligence reports, point to him as the key figure in the logistics of the attack that claimed the lives of 21 people, including 12 businessmen from the Jewish community of Colón. This type of crime is imprescriptible in the context of international criminal prosecution. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, led by Chancellor Javier Martínez Acha, reacted with a statement. “The alleged perpetrator of the terrorist attack that killed 21 people in 1994 on the Alas Chiricanas flight can be sent to the Republic of Panama to face justice after the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela approves the extradition request,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms. For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the step taken by Venezuela represents a “significant advance” in the process and opens the coordination phase for his delivery and eventual prosecution. “The authorities of Panama will continue to work so that the truth is known, responsibilities are determined and the guilty parties are punished as an example,” the statement, made public this Friday, emphasizes. The story. Hage Jalil was captured on Margarita Island in November 2025. After decades, Panamanian justice is closer to putting Ali Zaki Hage Jalil on the stand. The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela declared his extradition to the country admissible for his alleged involvement in the terrorist attack against flight 901 of the Panamanian airline Alas Chiricanas, an event that occurred in 1994. The decision was consolidated in a public oral hearing held this Thursday, March 26. The foundations of the ruling. The court validated Panama's request based on the following legal pillars: it was established that the imputed crimes (homicide and crimes against collective security) are typified in both the Criminal Code of Panama and that of Venezuela. And since it is an act of terrorism (the explosion of a plane in mid-flight), the TSJ determined that it is not a political crime, which eliminates common barriers to extradition. The terrorist attack left 21 dead. The ruling also invokes international treaties against terrorism and civil aviation. He was on the run for 31 years.
