Friday, January 16, 2009

Spanish businessman gunned down in Panama

PANAMA CITY, Panama (CNN) -- Police on Thursday said they found the car stolen from a Spanish businessman who was gunned down a day earlier after exercising at a park in Panama's capital.

Officials have not named any suspects or revealed a motive in the shooting death of Manuel Machin Ramos, 49, the local director of the Spanish petroleum company Cepsa.

"He was a respected and loved person," said company spokesman Ignacio Rodriguez-Solano. "We lament these sad circumstances."

Rodriguez-Solano said he could not provide personal information on Ramos, who was a "longtime employee."

According to information provided by the company and the Spanish Embassy in Panama, Ramos was driving away from Omar Park in a residential part of Panama City on Wednesday morning when his car was intercepted and fired upon by an unknown number of assailants. They then stole his car.

Barely alive when an ambulance arrived, Ramos was transported to Santo Tomas Hospital, where he died, officials said.

Police found his car Thursday morning on the outskirts of the city, but no other details were immediately available.

Ramos family members were believed to be traveling from Spain on Thursday, as were two representatives from Cepsa. The oil company's office in Panama City remained closed after the shooting.

Cepsa, which mainly refines crude oil and markets petroleum products, employs more than 11,000 people in nine nations, the company says on its Web site. In addition to Spain and Panama, the company says it has offices in Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Peru and Portugal and sells its products worldwide.

The company is also involved oil and gas exploration and production, natural gas operations and the generation and sales of electric power.

In Panama, Rodriguez-Solano said, Cepsa operates oil bunkers along the Panama Canal.

1 comment:

Puppetmaster said...

Esto no es nada bueno para la imagen del pais!