Maybe it is time to put out another warning to newcomers to Panama. Crime and gangs are on the uptake in Chiriquí and though out Panama. Crime has been continually growing since I arrived in 2003, but more recently it has become physically violent.

In the past it was mostly petty theft and crime of opportunity, such as leaving a new step ladder where it was easily stolen. Now it is often more important for thieves to enter a home while it is occupied, especially if it is known that there is a safe inside and the combination is needed.

Crime always increases during holidays and festivals. The Boquete Jazz Festival is approaching and there will be two opportunities for thieves. One, the many people going to the festival and two, the empty houses when people are at the festival.

Recently there was a 80 year old man was killed in Caldera. His hands and feet were tied and he suffocated because a plastic bag was put over his head.

In the La Prenza Article, it stated that there had been 9 violent deaths in the first 25 days of 2015 in Chiriquí. The increase in crime is attributed to the growth of gangs. Continue reading I Err On The Side Of Caution →

The young man that takes care of our pool has started working in Hospital Regional. Last night he was taking a local bus from Divala and three young men got on the bus on the Interamerican Highway. One had a gun and the others had Machetes.

I don’t know how long they rode the bus, but around 7:45 PM at La Estralla, before Concepcion, they took control of the bus.

They took everything of value from the driver and passengers. He said he is now only going to travel with his cedula.

I don’t know if it is strictly the time of year or if crime is on the uptake.

If I have to make a run to El Rey at night I always get multiple warnings from Lilliam.

Be careful out there.

I received an email about some U.S. Citizens that had their bank account closed and were robbed after leaving the bank with their account’s money.

I called the individual, who was no willing to discuss much on the phone, so I was unable to really assist her.

Here is the net out of the story as I understand it. It has two issues. First the bank “mysteriously” closed the account. If you are a U.S. Citizen and have recently tried to open an account in a Panama Bank, you may have noticed that the banks are not that interested in having U.S. citizens as clients. The U.S. banking regulations have become too onerous for some banks and it is just easier to operate without U.S. intervention

The banks have the right to close anyone’s account as I see it.

The second part is that after leaving the bank with all of the account’s money, the individuals were robbed. Again, this is not all that surprising. I have mentioned in several posts that a practice of some thieves are to station people in a bank watching for large withdrawals and to follow them in order to rob them.

This especially true this time of year when people are removing money to shop for Christmas gifts. If you know that you are going to be leaving a bank with a large amount of money, it is best to plan ahead for that event.

If you are a U.S. citizen and are robbed, I would advise reporting it to the police and to the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy can’t do anything to get your money back, but if there is a trend, the Embassy can put out an advisory notice of the trend.

I thought I would pass on some more information that recently was posted on our neighborhood watch WhatsApp group.

This warning was sent from friends in Panama City to neighbors on my block, and they shared them.

The warning involved the use of Scopolamine, which has been called the zombie drug in Colombia. With Panama being a neighbor of Colombia, it is not hard to imagine that it is now in Panama.

When Lilliam read the message, she said it had been in Costa Rica a few years back. She then gave me a long lecture to not open the door for anyone that is outside that I don’t know.

When I first read about it, i didn’t give it much credibility, however now that I have done some research, I think the warning should be posted. While doing my research, I found the Snoops writeup on Scopolamine, and if you are’t careful, when you read it, you could assume it is a hoax. Snopes is a site that debunks many hoaxes.

However, if you carefully read Snopes, you will see that it is refuting some cases in the U.S., not that the drug exists and has been used in Colombia.

Especially this time of year when many are going to be shopping in Plaza Terronal, there will be some opportunist thieves looking to relieve unsuspecting people of their purchases or money.

The crooks uses several methods on the victims. One is to pass out fliers or tickets that have even dosed with the drug. Another is selling fake perfume and getting you to smell it.

If this drug is inhaled, then it puts the victim in a state that allows them to follow commands given by the thieves. I remember a fellow writing me about a year ago and what he described happening to him in Boquete sounds just like Scopolamine.

You can do what you want, but I consider this a threat and worth paying attention to.

I just received the following information in an email about a daytime robbery in downtown David. This small restaurant is across from the Policlinica.

I don’t know if you heard or not, but yesterday at noon the small restaurant where I drink my morning coffee was robbed by 3 men and 1 woman..$$ 1500.00 Restaurant Chefi.

Our neighborhood is connected using the WhatsApp cellular application. Today I received a message stating that Restaurante El Fogón was robbed yesterday about 9:00 PM.

Following is the original Spanish message:

Anoche asaltaron el restaurante El Fogón. Clientes y propietarios fueron despojados de celulares , relojes, prendas, etc. O sea todo lo rápido y fácil de tomar. Eran 4 Entraron antes de las 9 de la noche. Por suerte no le hicieron daño a nadie. Tengan cuidado cuando salen y no lleven carteras no celulares.

English translation:

Last night they raided restaurant El Fogón. Customers and owners were stripped of cell phones, watches, jewelry, etc. Everything that was easy and fast to take. There were four that entered before 9pm. Luckily they did not hurt anyone. Be careful when you go out and take no purses or cellulars.

Be alert and be careful. These things do happen in Panama.

Let there be no doubt, bad things can happen when you are young and fearless and trusting. Natalie Ann Holloway disappeared in Aruba in 2005 and her body has never been found. She was young, fearless, trusting and in a foreign country.

Now Panama has its own mysterious disappearance of two Dutch girls. Boquete is becoming famous for the wrong reason. The following video is from a Holland news broadcast.

After further thought, youth has nothing to do with it. You only have to be fearless and trusting to become a victim. Maybe only trusting. Continue reading Wake Up Call →

Over the last couple years, we have upgraded our security in several ways, We started by adding bars to all windows, adding a fence, adding motion detection lights, adding internet connected cameras, and adding a new security front door.

Our most recent upgrade was a security system. I contacted Planet Telecom and had them do the installation. Planet Telecom was the same company that I had install my IP cameras. Alain Mulaire supervised both projects and once again, I am pleased with the job that was done.

Planet Telecom used the DSC product line. This is a well respected product line and can act as a stand alone system or connected to a monitored service.  You can buy cheaper systems, but you get what you pay for, and as I said in my camera install post, I am very particular with the individuals I allow to enter my house.

While I won’t describe my complete system, I will tell you that is 100% covered by backup batteries. Cutting the power to the house will not remove power to the camera system or the security system. In fact removing power will trigger an alert being sent to investigate the power interruption.

If you are planning on moving to Panama, security is one consideration you have to pay attention to. We live in good area of David and an apartment complex a couple blocks away has had cars burglarized at least four times on the pass few months.

A car alarm would not have prevented the car from being broken into, but it would have alerted the owners that the burglary was going on. I recommend installing a car alarm, if your car doesn’t already have one.

I have heard of people leaving Panama for a three month period only to return to find that their home was completely empty. Furniture was taken, appliances were taken, TVs and computers were taken, sinks and other plumbing was removed and even the wiring had been stripped from the walls.. If something has value in Panama, it will be a target.

One thing that newcomers to Panama don’t realize is that you are always being watched by someone. Neighbors know your schedule of coming and going. If you walk everyday at a certain time, it will be known.

If there is construction going on in your area, the workers can monitor your behavior. If you drive from Boquete to David every Thursday morning, it will be recorded. If you have a Wednesday bridge game, that leaves your house vulnerable for that period of time.

We lock all doors, even internal doors, when we go to bed. Our front entries and rear entries are locked 100% of the time, except when entering or leaving the house. Just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean that you aren’t being watched for a potential burglary.