Arroyo obtained a bachelor's degree and later a professorial qualification from the University of Panama, and completed a master's degree and a doctorate in literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He subsequently served as a visiting scholar and lecturer at several universities, and worked as a translator from English and French.
He represented Panama as ambassador to Colombia and participated in numerous academic congresses and seminars across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. His literary work has been translated into English, German, and Hungarian, and has appeared in various literary anthologies, including Seymour Menton’s The Spanish-American Tale.
In 1982, he served as a juror for the Casa de las Américas Prize in Havana, Cuba.
In 1997, the Simón Bolívar University in Barranquilla, Colombia, awarded him an honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa) in recognition of his academic and literary contributions.
From 1996 to 1999, he was editor of the Revista Cultural Lotería. In 2000, the Panamanian Chamber of Books named him Writer of the Year.
