By David Finger

Well, it’s official: the WBO will not be going to Nicaragua for its annual convention in October. With anti-government protest in Nicaragua spiraling out of control WBO President Francisco Valcarcel took to Twitter today to let WBO officials and boxing insiders know that the 2018 convention will now take place in Panama City, Panama.

“Our 2018 convention has been moved from Managua to Panama.” Valcarcel tweeted earlier today (June 6th). “Our dates will remain the same, Oct 29-Nov 2 at Hotel Panama in Panama City, Panama.”

Interestingly enough, this is the second move for the 2018 convention. Initially, the venue was supposed to be Costa Rica before Nicaragua made a push earlier this year to host the event.

Although Nicaragua eventually won out over Costa Rica, the political climate in Managua soon took a turn for the worse. Protests against President Daniel Ortega kicked off on April 18th and were met with a heavy-handed response from the Nicaraguan government. One journalist, Angel Gahona, was killed while streaming a report on Facebook Live on the spiraling violence. Sadly, with the protests now hitting its sixth week over 123 people have reportedly been killed, and most observers feel that there is no apparent end in sight. Just one day ago the Church of Latter Day Saints announced they would also be pulling all of their missionaries out of Nicaragua, citing the “continued violence and deteriorating conditions.”

However, the violence in Nicaragua has had minimal impact on its neighbors, with the U.S. State Department giving Panama a “Level One” travel advisory. The State Department issues four levels of travel advisory: with one being the safest and four being seen as the most dangerous.