Panama footballer Gilberto Hernandez shot dead aged 26 with seven others injured after gunmen open fire in horror attack
pGunmen fired on a group of people including Gilberto Hernandez, 26,nbsp;/p
figure id=attachment_23798307 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/argentinas-defender-cristian-romero-jump-842502808.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23798307 width=960 height=688 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditAFP/figcredit/figureGilberto Hernandez was killed in a seaport where drug gangs duel[/caption]
pThenbsp;defender for Panamanian champions Club Atletico Independiente died and seven others were hurt during the attack in the violent seaport of Colon./p
pHernandez is the second Panama player killed in the city over the past six years./p
pMurders in the area have been risingnbsp;as twonbsp;gangs battle for control of drug-smuggling routes./p
pIt is not yet known if or why Hernandez was specifically targeted./p
pA taxi driver was forced by two gunmen tonbsp;take them to a building in Colon#8217;s Barrio Norte neighbourhood on Sunday afternoon local time./p
pThey then fired on a group assembled nearby./p
pThe two armed men fled but a suspect was arrested in a flat close to the horrific scene./p
pPanamanian Soccer Federation Manuel Arias described Hernandez on X as a professional player who sadly died for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. /p
div class=article-boxout div class=article-boxout__header theme__background-color h3 class=article-boxout__headlineCOLON#039;S PLACE IN DRUG WARS/h3 /div div class=article-boxout__content theme__background-color-rgba-20 div class=article-boxout__content-img img src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2017-panama-switched-diplomatic-relations-331294418.jpg?strip=allw=620h=413crop=1 width=620 height=413 / /div
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The city is 50 miles north of Panama City (pictured above), where ships enter or exit the Caribbean Sea through the Panama Canal. /p
divpPanama#8217;s Colon province, with a population of 300,000, recorded 102 murders last year./ppThat#8217;s nine fewer than the year before, according to government data. /ppAuthorities blame much of the violence on rivalry between gangs trafficking drugs./ppOur photo shows a cargo ship docking at the Panama Port Company in Panama City./p/div /div /div
pArias called it an example of the violence that #8220;shakes our society#8221; and which needs to be tackled./p
pHernandez#8217;s father asked the killers to hand themselves in and pleaded: #8220;Don#8217;t cause more harm.#8221;/p
pHe also urged the city#8217;s youngsters to #8220;stop the violence#8221;./p
pBut he also asked authorities to do more to help young people, telling them to #8220;launch projects to save the youth from this violence#8221;./p
pHernandez#8217;s death comes six years after the fatal shooting in the Colon province of midfielder Amilcar Henriquez./p
pHe was part of the Panama team that qualified for the 2018 World Cup for the first time ever./p
pColon has been beset by violence in recent months, largely fuelled by its importance to the cocaine trade./p
pMore than 50 people have been killed this year in a city of just 40,000 inhabitants./p
pColon is attractive for drug smugglers as it is next to the Caribbean Sea and close to the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. /p