An explosive device set fire to the home of Rolando Rodríguez, an investigative journalist and associate deputy director of the Panamanian daily La Prensa, in the early hours of Saturday, 14 November. Rodríguez was not at home; his wife was inside and escaped without injury. No suspect has been named and no arrests have been announced.
Source: Associated Press
According to La Prensa, a person stepped out of a taxi outside the house in San Miguelito, next to Panama City, and threw a device that exploded and set the house and two vehicles parked in front of it on fire. Security-camera footage showed a man approaching the building with a backpack, and the flames spread from the parking area to the rest of the house within seconds.
Source: La Prensa via Pollar
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which caused structural damage to the house. The two vehicles were destroyed by fire. No one was injured in the attack, La Prensa reported.
Source: Associated Press
He was about to publish a new investigation
La Prensa says Rodríguez was preparing to publish an investigation implicating former officials of the current government and a significant state contractor. Al Jazeera reported the same account on 15 November. Whether the attack is linked to that reporting has not been established, and the authorities have not confirmed any link.
Source: Al Jazeera
Rodríguez also works with the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP). His most recent CLIP project, Negocios de Familia, published in June and July, examined alleged links between Panamanian businessmen Roberto and Ramón Carretero Napolitano, former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and the Cuban government. Earlier in the week of the attack, the newspaper had received a letter from the Carretero businessmen's lawyer warning that Rodríguez's texts damaged their reputation. In 2025 the family sued Armando.info and La Prensa journalists for slander and libel, demanding one million dollars — yaani 10 lakh dollar — but prosecutors dismissed the complaint in October for lack of evidence. None of this proves a connection to the bombing, which remains an open question.
Source: La Prensa via Pollar
Investigation under way; president condemns the attack
Panama's prosecutors have opened an investigation, and the Attorney General's office is examining a possible arson case. The National Police is also investigating the fire. Forensic investigators removed a charred vehicle from the home. No suspect has been named.
Source: Associated Press
President José Raúl Mulino condemned the attack on X and said he had expressed solidarity to the director of La Prensa, one of the country's largest newspapers. He said Panama does not accept this type of act under any circumstances.
Source: La Prensa via Pollar
Rodríguez described the attack as a warning and as a terrorist attack during a press conference, saying the person responsible wanted to strike at free expression. The president of Corporación La Prensa, Jorge Molina, also called it a terrorist act.
Source: La Prensa via Pollar
The Inter American Press Society (SIP) called the attack a brutal attack and demanded protection for the journalist and his family, an immediate investigation and clarification of the facts. The Committee to Protect Journalists' Americas programme and EditoRed also demanded an impartial inquiry and urgent security guarantees, according to reports of the reactions.
Source: Particle News
Why it matters
Physical attacks on journalists are very sporadic in Panama, and violent acts against reporters are rare in the Central American country. In the Reporters Without Borders press-freedom ranking, Panama stands 65th of 180 countries. The attack has therefore drawn attention well beyond Panama, as press-freedom groups warn that an unresolved bombing of a journalist's home can chill reporting on powerful interests.
Source: La Prensa via Pollar
What happens next depends on the investigation: whether prosecutors identify the person seen on the security cameras, whether the device and the taxi are traced, and whether the authorities can establish a motive. La Prensa has said Rodríguez's planned investigation will still be published. The publisher will update this story as the Attorney General's office and the National Police release findings.
Source: Al Jazeera