Immigration Officials Descend on Casco Viejo Nightlife
Word on the street is that more than a dozen officials, multiple squad cars and a bus for illegals suddenly appeared in Plaza Herrera around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning, stopping traffic and creating a bit of a scene.
Bystanders and bar-goers, who preferred to remain anonymous, were startled by this weekend activity in a neighborhood known as one of Panama City’s largest tourism attractions.
“I’m anxious to see what wonderful things tourists are going to say about Panama when they get back home,” said Eric Thiese of the Mojito’s Sin Mojitos Bar & Grill, who noted that patrons scattered after the operative.
During their rounds of Casco Viejo nightlife, the officials checked identification, shut down at least one establishment and carted off several people without proper documentation.
I was in Mojitos at the time of the ‘raid’. I was approached by a young lady, perhaps 23 years old, and asked for i.d. I had trouble understanding her Spanish, but I was ushered out of the bar and almost into a bus. At that time another woman approached and spoke to me in broken English, I didn’t understand anything. As they were loading me onto the bus, something distracted them and all of the ‘officials’ ran towards another man(I later found-out that he was the bar owner). I then walked back into the bar to join my group, but they were being asked to leave by men in fatigues. As we walked-out we found it comical that while 4 or 5 men were ushering patrons out the door, other men in the green uniforms were apparently purchasing drinks and chips at the bar.
Anxious to see what awaits our group in Columbia…