Panama on Friday declared a state of emergency in western Bocas del Toro province, where anti-government protesters are accused of setting fire to a baseball stadium and of looting businesses, including a provincial airport.
The protests that erupted two months ago in Bocas del Toro, a major banana-producing region, intensified this week, culminating in clashes with police that left one person dead and around 30 people, including several officers, the police said.
