In September 2022, the Single Union of Construction and Related Workers (Suntracs) celebrated its 50th anniversary.
However, the joy that should have accompanied the organization’s golden anniversary was replaced by growing concern, especially among its leaders.
As if it were a terrible anniversary gift, on that date it was learned that the union organization—and several of its most prominent leaders—was named in a criminal complaint for a series of crimes related to 14 properties in Red Frog Beach Club . These properties were offered by the developer Pillar Construction, SA (later renamed Bastimentos Holding ) as payment of labor compensation to 412 workers who participated in the construction of that project on Bastimentos Island, Bocas del Toro .
Following an out-of-court settlement with the construction company, the properties were transferred to Suntracs (which supposedly represented the workers) between 2012 and 2020. Since then, there have been unsuccessful efforts to get the union to deliver what was owed to the beneficial owners of the land.
It was then that, from within the organization, a “me-with-me” plan emerged: using a cooperative belonging to the same union, they secured the 14 farms, using them as collateral for a supposed mortgage loan contract for $3.1 million.
By June 6, 2022, Suntracs had already signed, notarized, and registered the loan agreement in the Public Registry . This led to the former employees, a month and a half later, when they filed the complaint, discovering that the assets were mortgaged to the Suntracs Multiple Services Cooperative, RL.
But the plan was far from perfect.
The cooperative didn’t have sufficient funds to grant such a loan. Its Savings Bank (CA) account held only $201,156.78. The union, on the other hand, did have the money. So they came up with the idea of having the workers’ organization “lend” the cooperative the funds, and the cooperative, in turn, “lend” them back.
All information related to this questionable transaction, as well as the precarious credit guarantee that was attempted to be established, is now in the hands of the Second Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime . This prosecutor’s office recently handed over custody of the 14 properties to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) while it investigates the Suntracs leaders for the possible commission of five crimes: aggravated fraud , money laundering , criminal association , document forgery , and malfeasance .
The irregularities don’t end there. In addition to the lack of an “apparent commercial rationale” for the transaction, neither the union was authorized to grant lines of credit, nor the cooperative to offer mortgage loans.
Repeated names
Members of Suntracs’ senior management and its cooperative participated in the alleged “simulation” of this transaction.
The repetition of names on both boards of directors is striking:
- Luis González Marín , the cooperative’s president and legal representative, is acting as deputy to Yamir Córdoba , Suntracs’ Organization Secretary. Córdoba is also the cooperative’s first alternate member.
- Abdiel Bethancourt is Suntracs’ Finance Secretary and also the cooperative’s secretary.
- César Ochoa is the union’s Secretary of Community Affairs and vice president of the cooperative.
- Sebastián Fula is Secretary of Culture at Suntracs and the third alternate member of the cooperative.
- David Niño is the union’s secretary of human and environmental rights and the cooperative’s treasurer.
- Orestes Jiménez is listed as the alternate secretary of education for Suntracs and the second alternate member of the cooperative.
So far, the prosecutor’s office has requested the arrest of four Suntracs executives: Saúl Méndez , secretary general; Genaro López , former secretary general and current Secretary of Finance; Jaime Caballero , Secretary of National and International Relations; and Erasmo Cerrud , Secretary of Defense.
Méndez has been in the Bolivian embassy since May 21, awaiting a decision on his asylum application. López and Caballero are being held in La Nueva Joya , and Cerrud’s whereabouts are unknown. The National Police have offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his location.
The movements in the AC
Where did Suntracs get the $3 million it gave to the cooperative to “loan” it back?
At that time, the union had several accounts at the Savings Bank. On September 5, 2022, one of them had a balance of just over $6.1 million. That same day, $3 million was deposited from the cancellation of a fixed-term deposit in the union’s name.
Subsequently, on September 29, 2022, a check for $3 million was issued to the Suntracs RL Multiple Services Cooperative , an amount that was transferred directly to the cooperative’s account at the same bank. Until then, the cooperative had deposits totaling just $201,000.
The millions did not remain in his account for long.
On October 21, 2022, exactly 22 days later, the same amount was withdrawn from the cooperative’s account and deposited back into the union’s account. This is recorded in a financial report prepared by the Money Laundering Crimes Division of the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) , dated May 23, 2025.
These transactions set off alarm bells. In just over six weeks, Suntracs had received, delivered, and received again the sum of $3 million, a figure that, moreover, exceeded the amount declared at the time the account was opened.
Excerpt from the Provisional Asset Seizure Resolution issued by the Second Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime on May 26, 2025.This pattern was reported to the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) , since the union’s financial statements have not been audited.
“The transaction has no apparent commercial rationale, as the union had sufficient funds and could have paid the settlements directly, without needing to resort to a loan from a cooperative to which they themselves provided the funds through a revolving line of credit,” the report states.
“Suntracs is not an authorized credit-granting entity, according to current union regulations,” the DIJ document adds.
The cooperative’s faults
The Panamanian Autonomous Cooperative Institute (IPACOOP) also issued warnings. It had previously warned that Suntracs “acts as a provider of financial resources used by the cooperative to grant loans.” This is concerning, given that the union is not subject to anti-money laundering oversight by any regulator. Furthermore, according to IPACOOP, the cooperative did not implement due diligence measures to verify the source of the funds.
Regarding the loan between the union and the cooperative, the last payment was made on March 28. The current balance is $2,984,308.22, despite the fact that the contract signed in 2022 requires monthly payments of $20,301.69, with an annual interest rate of 6%. In other words, until recently, repayment did not seem to be a priority.
The cooperative has outstanding loans totaling $6 million, 79% of which are secured by mortgages, even though its regulations do not allow this type of service.
Both the plaintiff workers, the prosecutor’s office, and the DIJ (District of Justice) have an appraisal conducted by the company Servicios Profesionales de Avalúos & Construcción (Professional Services of Appraisals & Construction) , which shows an “undervaluation” of the 14 properties on Bastimentos Island. The replacement value was estimated at $28.6 million, while the market value (according to the current lawsuit) reached $27.5 million.
Some former employees still don’t know what happened to their benefits.
They were unaware that Suntracs had represented them in an out-of-court settlement with Pillar Construction, as they never signed documents ceding their rights. Others are illiterate or live on remote islands off Bocas del Toro, making it difficult to locate them. Attempts are being made to contact all of them.
So far, 144 former employees have joined the lawsuit, represented by attorneys Abel Fernández Bultrón and Camilo Candanedo .
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