Civil society organizations are denouncing to the media that the promoter of the Puerto Barú project, the US investment company Ocean Pacific Financial Services, has initiated a civil process to request the preventive seizure of accounts and assets of Adopta Bosque Panamá and Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM).

Puerto Barú lanza nuevo ataque contra organizaciones que defienden el patrimonio natural de Panamá y la libertad de expresión

This case exposes the use of SLAPP actions, legal processes designed to intimidate and silence. In Panama, this type of measure had never before been used against civil society organizations.

Grupos ambientales denuncian secuestro de cuentas bancarias 

This preventive seizure of accounts, assets, and property is not a conviction or a sanction, but it has immediate and serious consequences. It paralyzes the operations of our organizations that maintain active processes of conservation, scientific research, and defense of the right to a healthy environment, and it freezes the work of teams that support communities and ecosystems at risk.

This is a serious matter that should alert the public to how the legal system is being used to stifle public participation and the defense of the country’s natural heritage.

CIAM y Adopta Bosques se pronuncian ante la orden de secuestro de sus cuentas bancarias

Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro expressed his concern about the decision made by the promoter of the Puerto Barú project with environmental organizations in Panama, an action that, in his opinion, does not contribute to the national dialogue on projects with environmental impact.