The site of a 7-month indigenous blockade in resistance to the construction of a new dam in the state of Bocas del Toro, Panama was attacked by gun-toting paramilitaries supported by Colombian electric firm Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EEPPM/EPM) on the night of May 18.

The blockade, established in October, had been regularly maintained by women, men and children of all ages. It was set up by the indigenous Naso tribe in order to block EPM’s access to the construction site for the the Bonyic hydroelectric dam on the Teribe River. The site had previously been the target of police raids, with a total of 14 indigenous resisters arrested to date.

On May 18, 50 paramilitaries firing weapons into the air arrived at the blockade site, forcibly intimidating the nonviolent resisters into withdrawing. The next day, they were joined by more than a hundred other non-Naso people, who arrived at the site with financial and transportation assistance from EPM.

Although local authorities have been notified of the incident and the potential for violence, to date police have only responded with raids into Naso communities — ostensibly looking for weapons — and have not visited the area where the armed paramilitaries are still deployed.

Bonyic is one of four dams currently planned for the region.

More info (in Spanish).