Panama Razing Notorious Prison
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PANAMA CITY — Authorities began destroying the notoriously violent Modelo prison Tuesday, ending what President Ernesto Perez Balladares called “a huge shame.”
The president pushed a button that activated 165 pounds of dynamite at the 71-year-old structure, which once held 24 times the number of inmates it was supposed to. As the walls crumbled, a high school band played patriotic music.
In July, a TV cameraman atop an adjoining building filmed prison guards clubbing naked inmates at the Modelo. Perez Balladares then ordered it closed.
Tuesday’s blast was set to bring down only half the prison, since it sits in a residential community. The rest will be destroyed by cranes and bulldozers.
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