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Panamanian deported from Nicaragua arrested for 1977 forced disappearance
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Panamanian deported from Nicaragua arrested for 1977 forced disappearance

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Emilio Garzola Ruíz was deported from Nicaragua to Panama and arrested for alleged involvement in the 1977 forced disappearance of student Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo.
  • Wald Jaramillo, 17 at the time of her disappearance, was an activist and is one of 110 people listed as murdered or disappeared during Panama's military regime (1968-1989).
  • The Panamanian government previously paid compensation and publicly apologized for the student's disappearance.

Panamanian national Emilio Garzola Ruíz has arrived in Panama after being deported from Nicaragua, where he was arrested for his alleged role in the forced disappearance of student Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo in March 1977. The incident occurred during Panama's military dictatorship when Wald Jaramillo was 17 years old and an activist in the student movement.

The National Police confirmed that Garzola Ruíz was located in Managua on July 30, 2025, and was subject to an Interpol Panama red notice issued on July 7, 2025. Following his arrival in Panama, he was apprehended and will be handed over to judicial authorities to face legal proceedings.

Wald Jaramillo is recognized as one of 110 individuals murdered or disappeared during the military regime that governed Panama between 1968 and 1989, according to a 2002 report by the Truth Commission. During her disappearance in March 1977, General Omar Torrijos was in power, and Manuel Antonio Noriega headed the intelligence unit of the National Guard.

In 2012, the Panamanian government provided compensation of $681,000 for the forced disappearance of the student, who was described as an opponent of the military dictatorship and linked to popular movements. The state issued a public apology for the case in 2017.

was student and activist of the student movement, and her disappearance occurred in a context marked by human rights violations during the military regime in Panama

— National PoliceDescribing Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo and the circumstances of her disappearance.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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