Two people who took part in an anti-government protest in Panama were shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday, authorities said, in a development that sharply escalated social tensions sparked by the granting of a license to mine a copper mine to a Canadian company.

The deaths of the two protesters follow the mass mobilizations in which thousands of citizens have taken part in recent weeks, as the protest against the contract with the company First Quantum Minerals has taken on wider dimensions.

Panama’s prosecutor’s office said via X (the former Twitter) that a suspect was arrested for the attack, without giving any details about that person.

Blockades erected by protesters are costing Panamanian companies $80 million a day in lost revenue, according to a consortium of business leaders. Schools have been closed for over a week, while more than 150,000 medical appointments have been missed.

A Panamanian teachers’ union (ASOPROF) reported via X that the alleged perpetrator of the two murders is American — something that has not been officially confirmed by authorities.

Officials and officials in President Laurentino Cortisso’s government have repeatedly called for an end to the protests, but construction and teachers’ unions say they will continue mass mobilizations until the contract with First Quantum Minerals is cancelled.

The new convention, agreed on October 20, became law of the land by government decision. It allows the mining company to operate in Panama for 20 years and gives it the option to extend for another 20, in exchange for $375 million in annual revenue for the Central American state. The government says the new contract secured better terms for the public than the previous one, but the thousands of citizens protesting are far from agreeing.