Gunfire Protects Looters Ransacking Pricey Shops

Looters, protected by men with rifles, had a field day in Panama City today, taking anything that was not nailed down from some of the most expensive shops in the city.

One merchant on fashionable Via Espana complained that there was “nothing left” and blamed the U.S. invasion of his country for destroying any semblance of law and order.

A group of up to 200 people broke windows, ripped off doors and ransacked shops in the city’s financial district, protected by men shooting rifles in the air.

People ran into shops, pulled clothes and other merchandise from the racks, ran out to waiting cars, dumped their hauls and then ran back into shops, according to witnesses.

People drove to the area in cars and taxis.

Witnesses said the looting looked organized, and sources at the U.S. Embassy said they suspected that the spree was organized by members of ousted strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega’s Dignity Battalions.

The sources said the looters were breaking into the shops because a lot of businesses belong to opposition supporters.

One shop that seemed particularly hard hit was the Sol de la India, which lost everything from clothes to candles, radios, furniture and Indian cloth.

There were no policemen in sight and no U.S. soldiers.