Here is an inside look at the most notable prison escapes in Panama and the systemic vulnerabilities that allow them to happen.

What made the escape stunning was the logistics. The inmates had allegedly received the power tools via a drone flown over the prison walls. By the time guards noticed the severed bars, the convicts were already in a waiting vehicle on the highway to Panama City. The escape highlighted a major security gap: the inability of Panamanian prisons to counter drone technology.

Sometimes, the easiest way out is the front door. At El Renacer prison, located on the banks of the Panama Canal, a group of high-profile inmates didn't bother with tunnels or tools. According to investigators, they simply walked out during a shift change, dressed in counterfeit guard uniforms.

For now, Panama remains a transit country not just for cocaine, but for fugitives. Every time a prisoner slips away, authorities face the same question: Is the man still on the island, or has he already boarded a cargo ship bound for Europe or Asia? The answer, most often, is that he is long gone.

Not to be outdone by Mexican cartels, inmates at the Nueva Esperanza Rehabilitation Center (known locally as La Joyita ) dug a 30-meter tunnel that extended well beyond the prison walls. Unlike the famous tunnels of the Sinaloa cartel, this one was rudimentary—dug with makeshift shovels and reinforced with wooden bed slats.