Two people who took part in a demonstration against the renewal of a mining contract linked to the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals were shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in Panama.
According to local media reports, Abdiel Diaz and Iván Mendoza were participating in a blockade of the Pan-American Highway in Chame when they were targeted and shot.
In a video relayed by various media including the EFE news agency, the suspect can be seen walking towards the group of demonstrators and appearing to ask them to move. After a few seconds, he took a pistol from his pockets and aimed it at the demonstrators, before starting to move a barricade made of tires and stones erected on the highway.
Confronted by the demonstrators, he ended up opening fire. One victim can be seen falling to the ground, while a second can be seen holding his shoulder, grimacing in pain.
Despite the seriousness of his action, the killer then continued to clear the road, under the eyes of the panicking crowd. He was eventually arrested by the police, without further bloodshed.
Warning: Images in this video may shock you:
One of the men died at the scene, while the second died in hospital. Mr. Diaz was a teacher at a school in the area, while Mr. Mendoza was the spouse of a teacher at the same school.
The suspect in the murders, Kenneth Darlington, was identified as a U.S. attorney. According to local media, he had already been arrested in 2005 for weapons possession. He was also the spokesperson for fallen Panamanian tycoon Marc Harris, whose investment firm The Harris Organization collapsed after accusations of money laundering.
The two demonstrators shot dead on Tuesday opposed the renewal of the operating contract for the Cobre Panamá mine, a gigantic open-air copper mine which is among the largest in the world. This is operated by Minera Panamá, a mining company itself owned by the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals.
Opponents of the renewal of the contract in force for the next 20 years believe that the latter is too favorable to the company. They also denounce the environmental impacts of the mine.