Last Updated on August 31, 2026
The Ngäbe community of Quebrada Nigua in Bocas del Toro province, Panama, has come under sustained attacked by a group of armed men, traumatizing families and devastating livelihoods.
According to Benjamín Abrego, the grandson of the late Ngäbe leader Julio Netobre, more than 50 men descended on Quebrada Nigua on 7 August.
“They cut our cacao, our vegetables, our plantains, yam – everything,” said Abrego. “We rely on that cacao to provide food for our families. And well, they just went ahead and cut it all down.”
A 12-day siege reportedly resulted in the complete destruction of 15 hectares of crops, including 4 hectares of cacao.
The men were allegedly acting on the orders of Yoni Caballero, a non-Indigenous rancher who claims to own the land and intends to clear it for cattle.
“He wouldn’t give us details on how he bought the farm,” said Ábrego. “Even though we have been working on this land for over 80 years, clearing and maintaining it. We have been here for more than 80 years, living off these crops.”
According to the grassroots human rights group MODETEAB (Movement for the Defense of the Territories and Ecosystems of Bocas del Toro), over 100 Indigenous families in the province are being targeted in a wider pattern of harassment and dispossession.
Feliciano Santos, MODETEAB’s coordinator told IC, “The attack reflects the chronic violence and vulnerability faced by Indigenous peoples on their ancestral lands. The situation is exacerbated by the government’s failure to demarcate Indigenous territory.”
Quebrada Nigua, Valle de Agua, and many other Ngäbe communities in the region are recognized as part of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé – a largely autonomous Indigenous territory with its own leadership and governance systems. However, those communities fall within so-called annexed areas.
In 1997, Law 10 legally established the Comarca and included explicit directives to demarcate 15 annexed areas within 2 years. Successive governments have failed to meet those requirements, leaving Indigenous communities vulnerable to predatory land grabbers enabled by an irregular land registry and corrupt local officials.
On August 19, the affected parties from Quebrada Nigua sought assistance from the Justice of the Peace – a local administrative authority that handles community conflicts – but the judge said she could not do anything to help and sent the family to the police.
The police told the complainants that they couldn’t act because the judge hadn’t sent the appropriate documentation. Consequently, the destruction of the crops was allowed to proceed.
The Abrego family home has been threatened with demolition
Meanwhile, Caballero is alleged to have made explicit threats to demolish the Abrego family home where children and elderly members have taken refuge.
“We are going through a very difficult time,” said Abrego. “We need support and help.”
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