An intentional fire gutted the Panama home of investigative journalist Rolando Rodríguez during the early hours of Saturday, destroying his vehicles while he and his family escaped unharmed.
The blaze began at approximately 2:30 a.m. in the San Miguelito district of Panama City, targeting vehicles parked outside the property before spreading to consume much of the house, as reported by Diario de Cuba. Firefighters arrived to extinguish the flames.
Security camera footage from a neighboring residence recorded a man walking past the property wearing a chest-mounted backpack moments before the glare of the fire illuminated the street. Neither Rodríguez nor the other occupants sustained injuries.
Rodríguez is a journalist for the Panama newspaper La Prensa and a participant in “Negocios de Familias,” a cross-border investigative project alongside Armando.Info, Transparencia Venezuela, the Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP), and Diario de Cuba.
The collaborative reporting project has detailed the commercial dealings of the Carretero family with the administration of Nicolás Maduro, including the business activities of Ramón Carretero Napolitano and the logistical footprint of Venezuelan oil shipments directed to Cuba.
During the week of the attack, Rodríguez was preparing a new installment regarding the Panama-based business operations of Roberto Carretero, the brother of Ramón. La Prensa had previously sought a right to reply, and on Friday the newspaper received correspondence from the businessman’s legal counsel warning that publication would damage her client’s reputation.
“Rolando Rodríguez es un grandísimo periodista y una gran persona. Con él hemos investigado en @ArmandoInfo @CLIP_AmericaLat @prensacom y @NoMasGuiso los negocios del empresario panameño Ramón Carretero Napolitano, así como sus vínculos con el régimen chavista y el cubano,” wrote Venezuelan journalist Roberto Deniz of Armando.Info on X.
Rolando Rodríguez es un grandísimo periodista y una gran persona. Con él hemos investigado en @ArmandoInfo @CLIP_AmericaLat @prensacom y @NoMasGuiso los negocios del empresario panameño Ramón Carretero Napolitano, así como sus vínculos con el régimen chavista y el cubano https://t.co/ClxeWZIvL0
The Carretero Napolitano brothers previously pursued legal action against the reporting team, but a prosecutor dismissed their complaint against the journalists and media outlets in October.
Panamanian authorities had not issued a public statement regarding the arson attack or potential arrests by the time reporting concluded.
