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Panama invasion victim identified 36 years later
🇵🇦 Panama /Conflict & Security

Panama invasion victim identified 36 years later

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Scientific identification confirmed the remains of Manuel Carol Ojo, who disappeared during the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.
  • The identification was made through forensic anthropology and genetic studies, comparing bone samples with those from relatives.
  • This marks the 13th victim of the invasion whose remains have been identified, closing a 36-year period of uncertainty for his family.

Panama City – The scientific identification of Manuel Carol Ojo's remains has brought closure to a family's decades-long search. Ojo disappeared during the U.S. military invasion of Panama in December 1989. His remains were recovered in January 2020 during exhumations at the Jardín de Paz Cemetery.

The Superior Prosecutor's Office for Discharge Homicide, as part of reopened investigations into victims of the invasion, collaborated with the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Multidisciplinary studies, including forensic anthropology and genetics, were applied to confirm Ojo's identity. His genetic profile was compared with biological samples provided by his relatives.

Ojo, a 32-year-old hydrological technician at the Institute of Hydraulic Resources and Electrification (IRHE), vanished on the morning of December 20, 1989, the same day he would have turned 33. His family searched hospitals, morgues, and detention centers in the invasion's aftermath, never knowing his burial place. The identification process spanned over thirty-six years, ending a period of profound uncertainty.

This identification is one of several outcomes from the exhumations conducted at Jardín de Paz cemetery. The Public Ministry led the judicial diligence, recovering human remains and other evidence. With Ojo's identification, the number of identified victims of the invasion now stands at 13. This ongoing work continues to identify victims whose remains have remained nameless for decades.

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DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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