Panama: Protester killed, 100 people hurt in clash between striking banana workers and police
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PANAMA CITY (AP) — Striking banana plantation workers and police clashed in western Panama on Thursday, leaving one man dead and 100 people hurt.
Eighteen of the injured in Bocas del Toro province, on the border with Costa Rica, were in critical condition, the national emergency agency said in a statement.
The National Front for the Defense of Economic and Social Rights, a non-governmental labor umbrella group, identified the dead man as banana union leader Antonio Smith.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Striking banana plantation workers began protesting last week against a new law that critics say weakens unions.
News broadcasts showed streets near the town of Changuinola blocked with tree trunks and burning tires. Protesters threw rocks at police, who fired tear gas.
Public Safety Minister Jose Mulino said in a statement that three police officers were being held by the workers late Thursday and that a border agent had been beaten.