Martyrs' Day (Panama) - Death Toll

Death Toll

As the shooting became a two-way affair and the crowds turned their wrath against targets in Panama City, a number of people were shot to death under controversial circumstances.

Ascanio Arosemena, a 20-year-old student, was shot at an angle from behind, through the shoulder and thorax. He became the first of Panama's "martyrs," as those who fell on January 9, 1964 and the following few days were to become known. Witnesses say that Arosemena died while helping to evacuate wounded protesters from the danger zone. The witnesses appear to be corroborated by a photograph of Arosemena supporting an injured man, said to have been taken shortly before he was shot. The building where it all started, the former Balboa High School today bears his name, and is one of the buildings of the Panama Canal Authority, the Panamanian Government Agency created to run the Canal starting from mid-day December 31, 1999.

A six-month-old girl, Maritza Avila Alabarca, died with respiratory problems while her neighborhood was gassed by the U.S. Army with CS tear gas. The U.S. denied that the infant's death was linked to the use of CS tear gas, in keeping with its claim that it is not a lethal agent. On September 28, 2000, Prof. Dr. Uwe Heinrich released a study to investigate the use of CS by the FBI at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel compound. In summary, he concluded that if no gas masks were used and the occupants were trapped, then "...there is a distinct possibility that this kind of CS exposure can significantly contribute to or even cause lethal effects."

Various U.S. accounts claim that all Panamanians who were shot to death were either rioters or else shot by other Panamanians.

Various Panamanian versions, also inaccurate, blame all Panamanian deaths on U.S. forces, though those who died in the Pan American Airlines building fire can not reasonably be said to have died at the hands of American forces. Panamanians did fire shots at other Panamanians on the Day of the "Martyrs", and some may have been killed or wounded that way. Some Panamanians may have been hit by bullets fired by Panamanians but intended for American targets. A definitive accounting of all deaths in the events of January 1964 has yet to be published, and may never be published.

The official Canal Zone Police version is that the police did not shoot directly at anybody, but only fired over the heads or at the feet of rioters. The police version was discredited by independent investigators, who found that the police fired directly into the crowds and killed Arosemena and a number of other Panamanians. DENI ballistics experts claim that six Panamanians were killed by .38 caliber Smith and Wesson police revolvers fired by the Canal Zone Police.

Though some Panamanian sources give many different names and numbers, the list of Panama's "martyrs" can be found at the "martyrs" Memorial in the former Balboa High School in Panama City. The 21 as listed there include: Maritza Alabarca, Ascanio Arosemena, Rodolfo Benitez, Luis Bonilla, Alberto Constance, Gonzalo Crance, Teofilo De La Torre, Jose Del Cid, Victor Garibaldo, Jose Gil, Ezequiel Gonzalez, Victor Iglesias, Rosa Landecho, Carlos Lara, Gustavo Lara, Ricardo Murgas, Estanislao Orobio, Jacinto Palacios, Ovidio Saldaña, Alberto Tejada and Celestino Villarreta.

Most US accounts put the number of Americans killed in these events at four, though others put the death toll at three or five. Those who died on the American side include Staff Sergeant Luis Jimenez Cruz, Private David Haupt and First Sergeant Gerald Aubin who were all killed by sniper fire on the 9th and 10th in Colon and Specialist Michael W. Rowland, whose death was caused by an accidental fall into a ravine on the evening of the 10th. Another 30 US military personnel were wounded in operations to separate the Panamanian and Canal Zone protesters. Most of the 17 injuries suffered by U.S. civilians resulted from thrown rocks or bottles.

When the fighting was over, DENI investigators found over 600 bullets embedded in the Legislative Palace. Santo Tomas Hospital reported that it had treated 324 injuries and recorded 18 deaths from the fighting. Panama City's Social Security Hospital treated at least 16 others who were wounded on the first night of the fighting. Most of those killed and wounded had suffered gunshot wounds. Some of the more seriously injured were left with severe permanent brain damage or paralyzing spinal injuries from their bullet wounds.

After the fighting, American investigators found over 400 bullets embedded in the Tivoli Hotel. Years after the events of January 1964, a number of US Army historical documents were declassified, including Southcom's figures for ammunition expended. The official account has it that the US Army fired 450 .30 caliber rifle rounds, five .45 caliber pistol bullets, 953 shells of birdshot and 7,193 grenades or projectiles containing tear gas. Also, the army claims to have used 340 pounds of bulk CN-1 chemical (weak tear gas) and 120 pounds of CS-1 chemical (strong tear gas). The same account said that the Canal Zone police fired 1,850 .38 caliber pistol bullets and 600 shotgun shells in the fighting, while using only 132 tear gas grenades.