A judge in Chiriquí approved a plea agreement and sentenced three foreign nationals aged 27, 29 and 32 to 11 years in prison for international drug trafficking on 5 October 2026.[1][2] Judge Víctor Serrano also barred them from public office for 12 months after the prison term.[1][2]
The case began on 3 October, when agents of the National Aeronaval Service intercepted a boat south of Punta Burica, in the Barú district of Chiriquí.[1][2] Officers found 92 bundles and three loose packages containing 2,852 packages of cannabis.[1] During the interception the boat collided with an institutional vessel and began to take on water; the agents rescued the three occupants and preserved the cargo.[2]
The sentence followed a plea agreement between the prosecution, the defence and the accused, which the judge validated.[1][2] The public prosecutor’s office was represented by Itzi Pittí, while public defenders Julio Cruz, Lilibeth Castillo and Carlos Rodríguez represented the accused.[1]
Infobae reported that the interception took place on one of the Pacific maritime routes used to move drug shipments toward other parts of Central America.[2] Neither source gave the weight of the cannabis or the nationalities of the three men.[1][2]