{"id":15541,"date":"2026-08-13T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=15541"},"modified":"2026-08-13T14:01:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:01:29","slug":"female-footballer-killed-panama-probes-gang-link-in-anton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/crime-safety\/female-footballer-killed-panama-probes-gang-link-in-anton\/","title":{"rendered":"female Footballer Killed &#8211; Panama Probes Gang Link in Anton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities in central Panama are investigating the death of Ivis Ubarte, a 23-year-old female footballer killed during a home invasion in El Ciruelito de Ant\u00f3n on Tuesday night, August 11. Ubarte, known as \u201cLa Rosadita,\u201d played for <a href=\"https:\/\/lpf.com.pa\/team\/inter-panama-cf-lff\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/lpf.com.pa\/team\/inter-panama-cf-lff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inter Panam\u00e1 CF in the Liga Femenina<\/a> de F\u00fatbol and had taken part in multiple Panamanian national team call-ups. No arrests had been confirmed as of the latest police update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The killing has triggered a joint homicide and femicide investigation, with police and prosecutors working to establish whether the attack was gang related, targeted, or connected to gender-based violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d15787.794263114505!2d-80.27718373741287!3d8.406712666108746!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8fac5287f3179619%3A0x2133aa9ba500b0da!2sCiruelito%2C%20Anton%2C%20Cocl%C3%A9%20Province!5e0!3m2!1sen!2spa!4v1786647423806!5m2!1sen!2spa\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Female Footballer Killed in Home Invasion in Ant\u00f3n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ubarte was inside her home when two armed men with covered faces entered the residence, according to the initial police account. The attackers first tried to shoot the victim\u2019s mother, but the weapon reportedly malfunctioned. One of the men then moved to Ubarte\u2019s room and fired multiple shots at her. After the shooting, both suspects fled in a sedan heading toward the Pan-American Highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sequence of events has shocked residents of El Ciruelito de Ant\u00f3n, a small community in Cocl\u00e9 province. Investigators said the attackers appeared to know exactly where to go inside the home, which has become a key element in the case. that the first weapon failed before a second attack was carried out points to a deliberate act rather than a random crime, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No one has been arrested in connection with the killing, but police said they have already identified several people of interest and are conducting operations throughout the week to make captures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AsROWcmNseA?cc_lang_pref=en&#038;hl=en&#038;cc_load_policy=1\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Investigation Points Toward Possible Gang Involvement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Police director Jaime Fern\u00e1ndez said the case is being examined under a line of investigation tied to possible gang activity. He added that some of the people identified by officers have previous criminal records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis case does not escape a line of investigation we are following, which points to the possible involvement of a gang group\u201d [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fern\u00e1ndez said operations would continue over the remaining days of the week, but he did not reveal how many suspects police are seeking or whether any of them have been formally linked to the crime scene. The gang angle places the homicide within a wider pattern of organized violence that has affected parts of Panama, including areas of Cocl\u00e9 province where armed groups operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors have not announced a specific motive. They continue to investigate why Ubarte was targeted and whether her death could be classified as femicide under Panamanian law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"gang violence\" class=\"wp-image-12656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1-450x300.webp 450w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gang-violence-1200x800-1.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">gang violence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Evidence Collection and Legal Classification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Panama\u2019s attorney general, Luis Carlos G\u00f3mez Rudy, said the case is being handled by the Cocl\u00e9 regional unit and its specialized section for crimes against life and personal integrity. That office is responsible for both homicide and femicide investigations, which allows <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/crime-safety\/panama-city-authorities-dismantle-illegal-bar-in-condado-del-rey\/\" rel=\"internal\">authorities<\/a> to pursue multiple legal angles at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators are conducting interviews, canvassing the area around El Ciruelito de Ant\u00f3n, and collecting <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Closed-circuit_television\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Closed-circuit_television\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">surveillance camera footage<\/a>. The goal is to reconstruct the route used by the attackers before and after the shooting, identify the getaway vehicle, and trace the movements of the suspects. These pieces of evidence could help establish whether the home was watched before the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities have not said if the suspects knew Ubarte personally or if the killing was ordered by a criminal structure. The combination of covered faces<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"Jaime Fernandez Director General de la Polici\u0301a Nacional Credit: Polici\u0301a Nacional\" class=\"wp-image-14585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1-450x300.webp 450w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jaime-fernandez-director-general-de-la-policia-nacional-1200x800-1.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jaime Fernandez Director General de la Polici\u0301a Nacional Credit: Polici\u0301a Nacional <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authorities in central Panama are investigating the death of Ivis Ubarte, a 23-year-old female footballer killed during a home invasion in El Ciruelito de Ant\u00f3n on Tuesday night, August 11. Ubarte, known as \u201cLa Rosadita,\u201d played for Inter Panam\u00e1 CF in the Liga Femenina de F\u00fatbol and had taken part in multiple Panamanian national team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6095,6096,6094,6093,6092],"class_list":["post-15541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crime-safety","tag-female-footballer","tag-footballer-killed","tag-home-have","tag-police-gang","tag-said-ubarte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15542,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15541\/revisions\/15542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}