Prominent Colombian Anti-Vaccine Doctor Assassinated In Panamá
Panamanian authorities confirmed that Colombian medical doctor Sammy Javier Mancilla, a native of Cali, was shot to death last Thursday while driving outside of Panamá City near the Tocumen international airport. Witnesses to the crime told police that while stopped in traffic, two assailants approached the physician, shooting him five times before fleeing on a motorcycle.
Dr. Mancilla was publicly known both for his outspoken stance against COVID mask and vaccine mandates, and for his side vocation as a house and electronic music DJ where he went by the moniker Sammy Dogg. He also ran a website called the Mancilla Natural Health Medical Center, though it appears to not have recently been updated. On the other hand, Mancilla frequently voiced his skepticism of COVID public health policy via Twitter, sometimes contradicting himself. The doctor said via Twitter that he treated himself with Hydroxychloroquine after being infected with COVID twice.
Tenía un récord en días que no usaba una mascarilla hasta que me la exigió el operador del Bus aquí en Ámsterdam ?
Apenas íbamos 7 personas pero el covid anda suelto como vaca loca ? pic.twitter.com/kv7m9ojSfG
— Dr.Sammy Mancilla ???? (@MDSAMMYMANCILLA) November 24, 2021
Last December, Mancilla was detained in Panamá where he was bought up on charges of violating public health laws. Prosecutors said they found medications stored in his residence in quantities beyond those legally permitted, though his defense attorney Alexis Sinclair explained that they were for distribution to the poor by the “La Resistencia” anti-vaccine-mandate group, according to Panamanian news outlet Critica.
Though Sinclair was able to secure Mancilla’s release shortly after Christmas, Panamanian authorities reportedly confiscated the doctor’s passport and prohibited him from traveling or posting on social media. His last Twitter post was December 21 of last year.
So far, Panamanian authorities have not announced arrests or progress in their investigation.
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