Emilio Garzola Ruíz is under investigation and detained in Panama following his July 2026 deportation from Nicaragua, linked to the 1977 forced disappearance of 17-year-old student activist Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo.
Case Background
- The Victim: Rita Irene Wald Jaramillo was a 17-year-old student leader and prominent critic of the military regime who vanished on March 27, 1977.
- The Arrest: Located in Managua, Nicaragua, on July 30, 2025, Garzola was held under an active Interpol Red Notice issued on July 7, 2025, before being deported to Panama in July 2026.
- Current Status: Upon arrival at Tocumen International Airport, authorities executed the warrant, and Garzola was placed under the formal inquiry of the Panamanian Public Ministry.
Emilio Garzola, under investigation for the disappearance of student Rita Wald in 1977, remains detained at the headquarters of the Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ), awaiting the Public Prosecutor’s Office to locate other suspects. According to prosecutor Guerra, this investigation, which is 50 years old, was reopened in 2024 after the emergence of new elements that could establish the causes of the student’s disappearance.
