Panama announces capture in Venezuela of suspect linked to 1994 bombing

Panamanian authorities reported the arrest in Venezuela of the alleged perpetrator of a 1994 attack that brought down a plane in Panama with about twenty people on board, most of them Jewish, and said they will seek his extradition.

Interpol Panama “received confirmation” from its counterpart in Caracas “of the apprehension of citizen Ali Zaki Hage Jalil,” a Venezuelan national suspected of downing an Alas Chiricanas aircraft on July 19, 1994, the Panamanian police said Saturday in a statement.

The aircraft exploded shortly after taking off from Colón International Airport in northern Panama, with 21 people on board, including 13 Jewish businessmen. It is the worst attack in the country’s history.

“The apprehension of the wanted individual took place” on November 6 “on Margarita Island,” in Venezuela’s state of Nueva Espara, the police detailed. “Coordination is under way… in order to initiate extradition proceedings,” they added.

Read more: The Tico Times (Costa Rica)