The Panamanian authorities announced that the alleged perpetrator of a terrorist attack had been arrested in Venezuela bombing attack in aircraftwhich claimed the lives of 21 people in 1994.
Most of the victims of the plane bombing were Jewish, and the Lebanese organization Hezbollah was blamed for the attack.
The aircraft (Alas Chiricanas Flight 901) exploded after taking off from an airport in the province of Colón on the night of July 19, 1994.
All passengers, mostly members of the Panamanian Jewish community, were killed. Among them were three Americans. This was the worst attack in the history of Panama.
The Interpol branch in Caracas confirmed to the corresponding agency in Panama that the Venezuelan Ali Zaki Aghe Khalil was arrested.
The arrest took place on November 6 in Margarita Island, Nueva Espara State. According to Interpol, the extradition process of the suspect is underway.
Panama’s foreign ministry said Saturday it had launched “diplomatic and judicial procedures” to bring the suspect “to justice.”
At the same time, he expressed his “concern” because a man “linked to the terrorist attack committed on flight 901 on June 19, 1994” was living “with impunity in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”
In October 2024, the US offered a reward of $5 million for any information leading to the perpetrators of the attack.
The investigation was reopened by Panamanian justice after then-Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela visited Israel in 2018 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that Israeli intelligence was certain the plane crash was due to a “terrorist attack” perpetrated by Hezbollah.