Judge throws out the charge against Saúl Méndez

Saúl Méndez speaks with reporters before his hearing

Judge dismisses charge against union leader
by Eric Jackson

On April 29, at the end of a nine-hour preliminary hearing, Judge Ileana Turner dismissed charges that Saúl Méndez, the number two leader of the SUNTRACS construction union, had paid a man with a long criminal record $500 and provided a pistol to him in a plot to start a shooting incident at an August 2007 protest march against the killings of two union activists.

The prosecution alleged that Méndez approached one Frederick Mayre Barcasnegras, a man with a long list of arrests and convictions for petty crimes whom Méndez did not know, giving him $500, a pistol and instructions to start a shooting incident. Mayre, it was alleged, was persuaded by his family not to carry out the plan and instead called a radio personality, Félix "DJ McCoy" García, who then went with Mayre and the alleged physical evidence to the police.

In taking Mayre's and García's sworn statements, Méndez's attorney Rafael Rodríguez got into the particulars of how and when the accuser and the disc jockey contacted one another and it turned out that their stories not only had internal contradictions but were unsupported by telephone records. Méndez had always claimed that the story was a complete fabrication.

Going into court for a preliminary hearing with only the stories of Mayre and García (the latter hearsay as to the alleged crime) and a pistol and some cash that other than by Mayre's word couldn't be tied to Méndez, prosecutors argued that the SUNTRACS leader should be called to trial. However, Turner held that this could not be justified on the basis of the evidence that the prosecution offered and dismissed the case.

Prosecutors say that they will appeal the ruling.

Before the hearing police tried to cordon off union members who had come to support Mendez into several separated areas. They got an argument and after a bit of pushing and shoving the Méndez supporters ended up in one place.

With union members on one side of the street and police on the other, passions calmed
for the most part. However, when one of Méndez's accusers showed up in the parking
lot behind the protesters he got a flying karate kick in the middle of the back from one of
the protesters. A picket leader admonished the assailant to "maintain decorum" and the
accuser, who wasn't seriously hurt, fled on foot and was whisked away in an automobile.

Here we see Panama's labor movement calling Minister of Government and Justice
Daniel Delgado Diamante and National Police chief Rolando Mirones murderers. In
addition to members of SUNTRACS and other Panamanian unions, there were labor
activists from other Latin American countries and Germany on hand to show support.

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