Panama's Varela says 'terrorism' cause of 1994 plane crash

Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela gestures during a Reuters interview at the Americas Business Summit in Lima, Peru April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Stapff

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama's president said on Monday a 1994 plane explosion in the country that killed 21 people, most of them Jewish, was the result of a terrorist attack and called for the case to be re-opened.

President Juan Carlos Varela told reporters that Israel provided reports late last year about the plane crash, whose victims included prominent Jewish Panamanian businessmen and which stirred suspicion of hate-motivated sabotage.