What Happened
A Panamanian court has found Jorge Luis General, identified as the leader of a criminal network linked to Colombia’s Clan del Golfo, guilty of money laundering and criminal association, along with 13 co-defendants. The verdicts concluded a trial that began in June 2025 and marked one of the most significant drug-financing cases prosecuted in Panama in recent years.
Prosecutors accused the network of laundering more than $10 million in narcotics proceeds. Among those convicted are General’s wife, Nadia Gómez; his mother, Adelina General; his sister, Benita General; and his brother-in-law, Aníbal Delgado.
Of the 16 defendants who stood trial, 14 were found guilty. Two National Police officers, Erick Santos and Fabio Cerrud, who faced only criminal association charges, were acquitted.
The Drug Prosecutor’s Office built its case on extensive evidence, including 240 documentary exhibits, 13 expert reports, and five pieces of physical evidence. Some 40 witnesses, among them experts and National Police personnel involved in surveillance and monitoring operations, also testified. Prosecutors additionally presented at least 100 transcripts of conversations obtained through telephone intercepts gathered over more than a year of investigation. Defense lawyers, for their part, submitted 360 documentary, testimonial, and expert pieces of evidence.
Background
The investigation that led to Operation Fisher began in February 2020 with support from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). When the operation was executed in December 2021, authorities carried out roughly 50 raids and detained 57 people, including officials from the National Police and the National Air and Naval Service (Senan).
The operation resulted in the seizure of 1.5 tons of drugs and approximately $20 million in assets, including cash, luxury vehicles, and properties. Among the properties confiscated were a luxury residence in Costa Verde in La Chorrera and a beach house in Río Hato, Coclé province, valued at one million dollars.
According to the prosecution’s evidence, Jorge Luis General received drug shipments along the coasts of Colón province. Through the companies Magna Pesca and Yogimor, S.A., the organization moved narcotics into containers bound for Europe and the United States. Seaside residences in the community of Nueva Providencia, Colón, served as reception centers for drugs and cash. During the 2021 raids, authorities discovered $10.09 million in cash hidden in secret compartments built inside one of those residences.
The network employed sophisticated counter-surveillance measures, including GPS technology to precisely locate drug shipments, frequent switching of telephone SIM chips, and encrypted communications to avoid interception.
What This Means for Panama
The verdict represents a major victory for Panamanian prosecutors in the fight against transnational drug trafficking and the laundering of its proceeds through the country’s financial and commercial systems.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 6, when the court will announce the prison terms to be imposed. Before the trial, a separate group of 28 defendants reached plea deals, some carrying sentences exceeding 90 months in prison.
Defense attorneys are analyzing possible motions to void the trial, arguing that intercepted audio recordings were not played in court, although their transcripts were examined by the tribunal.
The case highlights both the scale of narco-money flowing through Panama, a key logistics and financial hub, and the challenges of prosecuting complex organized crime cases, including the involvement of security officials. The acquittal of the two officers, alongside the convictions of 14 others, underscores the case-by-case nature of the court’s findings as Panama continues cooperating with U.S. agencies such as the DEA to dismantle trafficking networks.
This story was originally reported by La Prensa.