Moderator_02
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OPINION: The malice of corruption
Posted 17/06/2021
When we face a cover like this one, it is clear that there the perception that the country is sunk in the mud of corruption is not wrong: Odebrecht, Lottery, even the case in Costa Rica of a company with works in Panama - he confesses of having paid millions in bribes to local officials - and whose investigation will have rebounds in Panama. This week, a study containing an index on the ability to fight corruption was released. Obviously, there were no surprises: as always, our evaluation is bad. And the reason for that is because our officials are in denial. They do not hear or see or smell or feel; nor intuition they have. You just have to see what happened this week with the bags of food. Hundreds in a private house, without a good reason, and the only thing that seven ministers or their representatives can say is that they have given instructions to cooperate in the investigation. If that were true, the investigation would be completed in less than a week. Half a Cabinet and can't keep track of a few bags of food. For this reason, the country reeks of scam, robbery and bargains. And these are the covers that result from the impudence and the eternal malice – LA PRENSA, Jun. 17.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-the-malice-of-corruption
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Solidario food bags suspect released
Posted 17/06/2021
Julio Caballero the man in the San Francisco residence, where the authorities found over 500 bags of food from the Panama Solidario program has been released.
Caballero had to be brought before a judge of guarantees within 48 hours after his capture, in order to legalize his arrest, while he is being investigated for alleged embezzlement. However, the procedure was not followed, because the authorities are not clear about the scope of Caballero's participation in the plot. Therefore, it was appropriate to release him.
During the week, the anti-corruption prosecutor's office has carried out a series of procedures at the Atlapa facilities, where the Panama Solidario bags are assembled. The investigators also went to the Presidency to gather information that could clarify the facts under investigation.
Last Monday, the prosecution returned the bags seized the day before, in the house in San Francisco of de Caballero, a former official of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP).
The prosecution has carried out various procedures to establish how 500 bags from Atlapa arrived at Caballero's house, a fact known on Saturday thanks to a transmission from the digital medium Foco .
According to a report published on June 9, Panama Solidario has delivered 8,736,263 bags with food.
The same report details that 6,508 people work daily voluntarily in Panama Solidario and that $259.4 million were committed to supply the bags with food delivered.
The work of distributing the bags in the communities is in the hands of the village representatives, under the coordination of the Presidency of the Republic, and it has been reported that in some cases their delivery is conditional on the political affiliation to the ruling parties.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/solidario-food-bags-suspect-released
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The URL provided above for the video about Dog Camp Boquete is flawed. Here is the correct URL:
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Moderator comment: Refer to the below highlighted text for the link to Panama.
Quote30 arrested in mega Costa Rica corruption swoop
Posted 16/06/2021
AFP - A mega corruption investigation in Costa Rica, involving a presidential adviser and executives of construction firms with Panama links, places the country on the list of Latin American nations involved in paying bribes in exchange for public works.
Those involved would have participated in a criminal system that caused, according to the authorities, budget losses of 78 billion colones (about $125 million), between 2018 and 2020.
Costa Rica saw how in 2016 Panama and other countries fell into the networks of the Lava Jato case, which shook Latin America for the payment of more than $700 million from the Brazilian Odebrecht to officials and politicians in exchange for works.
Five years later, this Central American nation has its own scandal.
'sexual favors'
According to the director of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), Wálter Espinoza, public employees received constant favors and bribes, which responded to a planned articulation ”.
Among the gifts are "money, vehicles, land, travel, sexual favors and what they can imagine so that a company could benefit," says Espinoza, without going into details.
"This is the typical link of corruption that has manifested itself in other countries: groups of businessmen or private companies with very strong interests, and wide possibilities of action that approach officials to offer them gifts," he said.
Beyond the fiscal and judicial investigations, President Carlos Alvarado has asked the Legislative Assembly to open an investigative commission into the case.
Thirty suspected of offering the handouts, high-ranking officials of construction firms in Costa Rica were arrested, including H. Solís and MECO, which account for a high percentage of public works projects for accumulated sums amounting to $900 million
Carlos Cerdas, owner of MECO and who was arrested in the operation, was involved in Panama in the Blue Apple case, where in 2017 payments of up to 10% of the value of the works were reported to win contracts.
Among those investigated is an adviser to the president, Camilo Saldarriaga, who resigned on Monday after the scandal. Also Allan Ugalde, the manager of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, in charge of resolving appeals to public tenders.
"Where there is a corrupt person, there is a corruptor," said President Alvarado, condemning the denounced events.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/30-arrested-in-mega-costa-rica-corruption-swoop
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96.8% of world container fleet can now transit Canal
Posted 16/06/2021
An increase in the length of ships using the neo-Panamax locks of the Panama Canal means that 96.8 % of the global container fleet can now transit the waterway shortening routes and benefiting economies around the world says the Canal Authority (PCA)
Since May, the length (length) of the vessels to transit through the locks has gone from 367.28 meters (1,205 feet) to 370.33 meters (1,215 feet).
The new length will provide shipping lines with greater flexibility in making decisions for the siting and construction of vessels with greater capacity that can transit through the Canal.
"This change was possible thanks to the experience of our human team that has operated the neo-Panamax locks safely and reliably during the last five years," said the administrator of the Panama Canal, Ricaurte Vásquez.
The announcement comes after a series of test transits to confirm the safety of the operation. These included Evergreen's Newt in 2019, with a length of 369 meters (1,210 feet).
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/968-of-world-container-fleet-can-now-transit-canal
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Last-ditch attempt by Martinelli to avoid retrial
Posted 16/06/2021
Four days before a new trial of former president Ricardo Martinelli for alleged political espionage he will appear before a judge of guarantees The hearing will be held next Friday, June 18, 2021, at 10:30 in the morning, following a request from the lawyer Alma Cortés , who is part of the MARTINELLI legal team.
The hearing will be, in the auxiliary room of the Supreme Court of The right allegedly affected is unknown. The private plaintiffs say they have no knowledge of this and that they will find out when the hearing begins on Friday.
In the last month, several hearings have been held to affect rights, requested by Martinelli, who alleges that the charges were never formally imputed and that the case has already expired. Both arguments have been rejected by the guarantee judges.
The request for the hearing comes a few days before a new oral trial against Martinelli begins, on June 22, after an Appeals Court decided to annul the verdict of not guilty handed down by three judges, in favor of Martinelli, in August 2019.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/last-ditch-attempt-by-martinelli-to-avoid-retrial
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Gas prices up across the board
Posted 16/06/2021The Ministry of Energy reports that 95 octane gasoline will raise its price by two cents to 0.90 cents per liter. 91 octane gasoline will increase two cents to 0.87 cents per liter. Low-sulfur diesel will rise two cents to 0.77 cents a liter. These new prices will be in force until July 2.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/gas-prices-up-across-the-board
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$7.6 million tender to feed transiting migrants
Posted 15/06/2021
The Public Security authorities of Panama are in search of a food supplier for migrants arriving at the Darien border.
The public tender for a breakfast, lunch, and dinner provider has a cost of $7.6 million for the delivery of the food portions for 365 days, that is, seven days a week. The proponent must prove that it has the infrastructure and sufficient capacity to be able to carry out the contract, for which it will have to present photographic evidence and specifications.
The diet provided must contain a sufficient and balanced amount to cover daily nutritional and energy needs, always providing within it, the three fundamental nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
The proposals will be received on July 27, according to information published in Panamacompra.
Between January and April, 11,370 extraterritorial migrants arrived in Panama after crossing the Darien jungle, according to data provided by the International Organization for Migration.
Panama has been receiving migratory flows for more than a decade, reaching its highest point in 2015 and 2016, when more than 30,000 arrived each year.
In 2020, as a result of the pandemic, migrant flows decreased, but now they threaten to overwhelm reception centers.
Hundreds of people, including pregnant women, minors, who travel with their parents, enter the country in precarious conditions due to dehydration, gastrointestinal conditions, and respiratory diseases.
Darién is considered one of the most dangerous irregular migrant routes in the world, not only because of the characteristics of a tropical forest - with y rivers and wild animals (snakes, jaguars) and insects such as mosquitoes that can transmit diseases - but because they hide organized crime groups.
The jungle without land communication routes has become an obligatory step for clandestine migration from South America to the United States. Migrants, mainly from Haiti, Asia, Africa, and Cuba, are moved by traffickers who have generated a humanitarian crisis.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/76-million-tender-to-feed-transiting-migrants
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Rains flood 400 homes, divert planes
Posted 14/06/2021
The heavy rain that fell on Sunday night, June 13, caused flooding and damage to at least 400 homes and the diversion of planes at Tocumen International
The director of the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), Carlos Rumbo said the most affected sectors were Tocumen with 156 flooded homes followed by Panama Viejo follows with 70 flooded houses.
Rumbo said that Sunday's downpour coincided with the high tide on the Panamanian Pacific coast. "There was an overflow of rivers and streams in several places in Panama and Panama Oeste." He warned to be prepared for more of the same
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/rains-flood-400-homes-divert-planes
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Incentives Law for Recycling Industry
On June 8, Law 223 was published in Panama's Official Gazette, a legal framework that establishes environmental tax exemptions for the recycling industry; these incentives will take effect as of 2022.
Monday, June 14, 2021
The purpose of this legal framework is to promote sustainable business practices, the reconversion of companies and the development of the recycling industry in the country.
Article 4 details that "... natural and legal persons that reconvert their activity, replacing their plastic products with biodegradable materials that do not contain plastic, and are duly endorsed by the Ministry of Environment will enjoy the following benefits for a period of five years:
1. Exemption from import taxes on equipment and machinery.
2. 15% discount of the income tax."
The incentives of this Law shall not be applicable to natural or juridical persons whose replacement materials are synthetic plastic options labeled as degradable, biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable, bioplastic, bio-based, recycled or any other plastic derived from petroleum and other hydrocarbons.
Legal entities engaged in the collection of recyclable materials for export are not eligible for the exemptions either. Recycling must take place directly within the territory of the Republic of Panama, according to the text of the law. See publication in the Official Gazette.https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Incentives_Law_for_Recycling_Industry
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15 premises damaged in Coronado explosion
Posted 14/06/2021
At least 15 commercial premises, were damaged by an explosion that reduced some to rubble in the Plaza Las Terrazas de
Coronado, at dawn on Sunday, June 13. Authorities spent the day investigating the cause and location of the blast. No injuries were reported.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/15-premises-damaged-in-coronado-explosion
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Over 500 bags of aid food uncovered in raid
Posted 14/06/2021
A raid on a home in San Francisco headed by Senior Anticorruption Prosecutor Ruth Morcillo on Saturday night uncovered over 500 bags of food from the Panama Solidario program and led to the arrest of one man
The raid followed a public complaint by the digital medium Foco Panamá . The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is conducting an ex officio investigation for the alleged commission of a crime against the public administration.
A source confirmed to La Prensa that the arrested person is Julio Caballero, a volunteer for the Panama Solidario program. It was reported that inside the house there were more than 500 bags with food and other frozen products, such as chickens.
Through a live broadcast and videos uploaded to their networks, the digital medium Foco Panama identified that bags of food were being brought into a private residence in San Francisco. They kept broadcasting for hours until the Police and Public Ministry (MP) personnel arrived.
In photos shared by the MP, it can be seen that the bags had the logo of the National Government and the Agricultural Marketing Institute.
The Panama Solidario Program, created as a response to social assistance at the beginning of the pandemic, and the Atlapa Convention Center as its center of operations. It was there that months ago, senior executive officers and hundreds of volunteers celebrated, with music and dance, the first anniversary of the program. The event was widely criticized as photos of senior officials dancing together and flouting social distancing rules circulated on social media.
Vice President and Minister of the Presidency, José Gabriel Carrizo, was appointed by President Laurentino Cortizo to "lead the efforts."
According to a report published on June 9, the program has delivered nearly 9 million bags with food. The same report details that 6,508 people volunteer daily with Panama Solidario, and that, $259.4 million were committed to supply the bags with food delivered.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/over-500-bags-of-aid-food-uncovered-in-raid
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Panama exports surge 77.4% in first quarter
Watermelon one of the products that showed positive growth
Posted 14/06/2021
Exports in the first quarter of the year reached $1.85 billion, an increase of 77.4% compared to the same period last year and the first time Panamanian exports exceeded one billion in a four-month period.
Of the total copper, exports totaled $856.8 million
Roberto Tribaldos, president of the Panamanian Association of Exporters (Apex), commented that it is important to increase the diversification of the country's export basket through added value.
Watermelon, palm oil, wood, medicines, aluminum containers, and cardboard packaging are the products that registered positive growth between January and April.
Tribaldos pointed out that the problems facing Colombia are affecting its exports, which has been taken advantage of by Panamanian companies
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/panama-exports-surge-774-in-first-quarter
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Impunity taking toll on Panama internationally
Posted 13/06/2021
For more than a decade, Panama has experienced a maelstrom of scandals related to corruption and lack of transparency.
During the last 15 months, new cases have been added to that list, with the aggravation that they have occurred in the middle of an unprecedented health crisis says The Panama Chamber of Commerce, industry, and Agriculture (CCIAP) in its Sunday newsletter.
The latest events cause indignation and anger because they are playing with the population, its health, and its future. We are sailing down a dark and dangerous channel and a turn of the rudder is urgent.
We live in a democratic system; however, going to the polls every five years is not enough. For true democracy to work, there must be a real rule of law that provides security to its citizens; as well as a citizenry that in all its roles - entrepreneurs, workers, public employees, to name a few - respects the laws and is committed to values such as honesty and resilience.
As a society, we are obliged to openly condemn those who tarnish the reputations of those who act the right way. Enough of being a permissive society that does not morally punish the corrupt. They are the scum and as such must be cornered in the darkness of contempt.
The Chamber activates its Ethics Committee when a member company engages in unethical practices or has been convicted of illegal acts. In case the ruling expresses guilt, the company is expelled from the union.
We have already done it in the past and we will do it again, but this sanctioning mechanism depends, in turn, on a system of administration of justice that is bogged down and absent.
The CCIAP has affirmed on innumerable occasions - today we are putting it back on the table - that it is necessary to rescue Panamanian justice. Honest citizens feel unprotected against the cynicism of the corrupt. Impunity is taking its toll on us nationally and internationally.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/impunity-taking-toll-on-panama-internationally
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Ministry Counselors linked to scandals
Eyra Ruiz and José Alejandro Rojas
Posted 12/06/2021
Although in 2014 the Supreme Court ruled that Counseling ministers have no constitutional basis they continue to exist without portfolio and with all the perks attached to a Ministerial post and two of them Eyra Ruiz and José Alejandro Rojas linked to scandals.
Ruiz, in the Ministry of Health, has been the target of criticism for several of her actions, such as the authorization for a vaccination day in the National Assembly, as the executive secretary of Panavac-19. She also acknowledged knowing Denisse Vega, owner of the Coco del Mar Suites building, where 17 people paid $200 each to receive the Pfizer vaccine, reports La Prensa.
While Rojas Pardini, Minister Counselor for Facilitation of Private Investment, is linked to the board of directors of the restaurant Salvaje, where last month a young man died when a railing came off. Rojas Pardini appears in millionaire loan documents with Jaime Ventura Álvarez, who held the position of secretary of the company that owns Salvaje, until February 2020.
Although both were appointed as advisory ministers, they appear on the state payroll with other positions. Ruiz remains a doctor in the Ministry of Health (Minsa) and earns $7,562 a month. Rojas appears as executive secretary of the Secretariat of the Economy of the Presidency and earns $6,000 (salary and representation expenses).
Like the ministers, they have an official car and administrative staff. In addition, they use a diplomatic passport and can accompany the president on international trips and activities as ministers. Their function, which is not established in the Constitution or in the decrees that designate them, would be to advise the president on complex issues.
The Supreme Court, in a ruling of July 3, 2014, ruled on the figure of the Minister Counselor and said that it has no constitutional basis.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/ministry-counselors-linked-to-scandals
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OPINION: The splendor of decadence
Former Lottery. staff told "recruit or be fired"
Posted 12/06/2021
The Molirena is a party of convenience. Its first years of history were illustrious, but now it is the livelihood of certain politicians, insatiable leeches, who use the party solely and exclusively for robbery and their political subsistence. The only one who seems not to know is the electoral prosecutor, who had to carry out an investigation, precisely, to prove how Lottery employees are pressured to recruit - on pain of fine or dismissal - the citizens that this group needs to survive. The role of the electoral prosecutor has been pathetic in saying that the people who made the complaints did not present evidence of what they said, which is false because that is what they took. But it is clear that if you are blind, deaf, and dumb by choice there is nothing to do. It gives peace of mind not to get into such trouble, you will surely think, securing yourself a completely undeserved salary. And it is not only the current one, but previous electoral prosecutors have done the same. They are now joined by the comptroller, who, without completing the investigations of the case, ordered to pay more than $1 million to the alleged winner of a raffle whose legitimacy is in doubt. The decadence, in its greatest splendor – LA PRENSA, Jun. 12
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-the-splendor-of-decadence
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Death threats follow vaccine abuse reports
Posted 11/06/2021
ONE OF our journalists - who has been reporting on clandestine and VIP vaccinations - has been threatened by strangers who take on the cowardly task of phoning to warn her to "take care of her life." These threats arise, precisely, after the publications that the reporter made about the abusive use of vaccines. And this is the consequence of having governments with an air of absolutism, whose officials - and former officials - believe they are above the law and their fellow citizens, who allow individuals like these to resort to the old - but not forgotten - practices of gorillas: intimidation, in an effort to achieve self-censorship. True or false, we do not take these threats lightly, as they mark the beginning of behaviors that seek to intimidate, damaging freedom of expression. First, that of a journalist; then that of all Panamanians. It is amazing that we have reached this point, where intolerance is the new trend in our society. But let us not be surprised: it is enough to listen to the hate speech and the discrediting campaigns of some politicians against the media and communicators. It was only a matter of time before the threats against their lives arrived.- LA PRENSA, Jun.11
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/death-threats-follow-vaccine-abuse-reports
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Clandestine vaccination probe heats up
Jerónimo Mejía,
Posted 11/06/2021
The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is looking for the concierge of the Coco del Mar Suites building, and the 17 people who were vaccinated (presumably with the dose of Pfizer), last Monday as part of the investigation into the operation of an alleged clandestine anti-covid vaccination center, denounced by La Prensa earlier this week.
The sources did not specify if these people would be charged in the process that, according to prosecutor Ruth Morcillo, is instructed by the alleged commission of crimes against the public administration, since the Ministry of Health (Minsa) is the only competent institution to manage vaccines against covid-19.
As part of the process, the staff of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office also began to analyze the documents found in room 9 of the Coco del Mar Suites building, as well as the material collected in the Vidatec laboratory offices, on Calle 64 San Francisco, during two separate raids carried out by the prosecutor on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after the Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, filed a complaint related to the alleged clandestine vaccination center.
Sources linked to the investigation revealed that the prosecution also requested information about local 9 of the Coco del Mar Suites building, where the alleged clandestine vaccination center operated, to establish who its owner is or if it was rented.
Denisse Vega, until last Tuesday manager of Vidatec and Cordón de Vida laboratories –suspended by the board of directors of the companies as a result of the scandal–, admitted to La Prensa that she was the owner of that building.
She was seen and photographed last Monday at Local 9 of the Coco del Mar Suites building, but later claimed to have absolutely nothing to do with the alleged clandestine vaccination center that would operate there. Personnel from Vidatec and Cordón de Vida laboratories were also seen and photographed at the site on Monday.
On Thursday it was learned that lawyers Abilio Batista and former Supreme Court judge Jerónimo Mejía, were representing Vega but neither wanted to provide statements to the media.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/clandestine-vaccination-probe-heats-up
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OPINION: Government at point of no return
Posted 10/06/2021
When just over 40% of the current presidential term has passed, the government has lost all credibility. Society is willing to believe anything - be it truth or lie - in which the corruption of its officials is presumed. Which is the reason? It is permissiveness, complacency, indifference, and lively play. The worst of all is impunity. As nothing has consequences, the credibility of the President down is almost nil. Social networks fiercely feed rumors, falsehoods, deceptions, and no one questions their legitimacy. They simply serve to deepen the perception that everything that is written against officials is true. And it is that not deep down, there are reasons to believe that this is the case. Or do they think that their radical lifestyle change goes unnoticed by people? Cars, expensive brand houses and apartments, dresses and jewelry; money as never before in the bank and, overnight, hidden or visible, direct or indirect entrepreneurs with businesses in the State, without the control authorities, even blinking. They have crossed the line, and there is no return. Gone are authority and respect. That is how simple it is. -LA PRENSA, Jun 10.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-government-at-point-of-no-return
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Health Counselor and Vice President react to innuendos
Eyra Ruiz denies friendship
Posted 10/06/2021
The investigations led by the Public Ministry of clandestine vaccinations in Coco del Mar have fired up accusations on social media of close connections between Ministry of Health counselor Eyra Ruiz and Denisse Vega former manager of a laboratory linked to the scandal.
On Wednesday, June 9 Ruiz told La Estrella that they have not given any instructions to work with a private clinic or laboratory to vaccinate and much less to sell them. "Let the justice do what it has to do and that the prosecution investigates if those vaccines came from outside, if they were saline solution vaccines or if these vaccines came from somewhere in the National Government, which I am sure they are not because we have not given no instructions to work with any clinic or any private laboratory to give vaccines and sell them, ”Ruiz said.
She pointed out that Denisse Vega, a member of the board of directors of Vidatec and Cordón de Vida, companies accused of using their premises for clandestine vaccination, is only known. “She offers the laboratory service as she offers it to all gynecologists in the country. In fact, she is a professional woman and I have always had respect for her like any professional woman, but to say that I practically have coffee and cookies with her and tea every day is not true.
I really know the father Dr. Mario Vega, who is a gynecologist like me, and I know what the family must be going through."
Meanwhile Vice President and Minister of the Presidency, José Gabriel Carrizo, announced that he will proceed legally against the promoters of attacks, infamies, lies, and slander against him and his family. after social networks mentioned supposed friendships of a relative of Carrizo with people who presumably may be linked to this fact.
On Wednesday Carrizo on his Twitter account posted messages referring to the ‘attacks.’
“For long months I have endured with stoicism a myriad of insults, reproaches, and slander, despite the fact that they lack any foundation," he said.
He stressed that so far, he has proceeded by virtue of being an elected official and convinced that, as such, he must respect public scrutiny. However, he stressed that "it is intolerable that in the face of not responding to completely unjust accusations, the attacks are directed towards members of my family, pointing out alleged links with inappropriate matters, which can only be conceived by unhealthy minds."
Carrizo warned that he reserves the right to proceed legally against those who may be the material authors or promoters of the “infamies”.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/health-counselor-and-vice-president-react-to-innuendos
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Rain raises draft of transit vessels to 50 ft
Posted 10/06/2021
The increase in rainfall in the Canal basin has raised the level of Gatun Lake above the level that it should have for the time of year. The Gatun's elevation Wednesday was 85.7 feet or 0.26 feet above the level it should have for this date.
This water level allows the administration of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to offer the maximum draft, which is 50 feet, to Neopanamax vessels.
This June the Canal celebrates five years since the opening of the new locks, which has strengthened its role as a strategic route for world maritime trade, by attracting new customers, due to the service it offers.
On the container ship ONE Hawk of the Ocean Network Express (ONE) shipping company made its first transit through the Canal.
The container ship, with its unique magenta color, transited the new Canal locks as part of an Alliance service that covers the route between Asia and the East Coast of the United States.
The ONE Hawk traveled northbound, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, with a capacity of 14,167 TEU (unit of measurement of a 20-foot-long container).
The ACP reported that in its inaugural passage through the interoceanic route, the ONE Hawk received recognition from the Green Connection for using the green route of the Panama Canal, which means a shorter route, saving an estimated 4,500 tons of CO2, and in this way, it minimizes its environmental impact.
The route of the container ship includes calls at ports in China, South Korea, Colombia, New York, North Carolina, and Georgia, in the United States.
The main segment of the Canal business continues to be that of container ships that pass through the new locks. In the first six months of the Canal's fiscal year (October 2020 to March 2021), the transits of 782 container ships or 40.9% of the neo-Panamax served in that period were counted.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/rain-raises-draft-of-transit-vessels-to-50-ft
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Government enabled vaccine black market
09/06/2021
The Health Minister has asked the population to be vigilant against clandestine vaccinations, such as the one discovered last Monday. This request is absurd for several reasons. The first, because the population has done it, not only in the case of vaccines - which several complaints have made about it, including the quasi-clandestine vaccination in the National Assembly - but in innumerable situations of evident corruption without consequences for anyone. So, a vigil in that direction is almost useless. Second, the Government has been in the custody of the vaccines all the time and what has happened shows the weakness of its controls, because we have seen that not even with the police is the property of Panamanians respected.
On the other hand, it is worth wondering if those vaccinated clandestinely are entirely to blame for this black market. It was the Government that decided to maintain absolute control of the vaccines, despite the fact that private sector hospitals offered to administer the vaccine at no cost. No, not all the fault lies with the vaccinated. The erratic vaccination schedule - which has displaced the chronically ill - also leads to despair. And the fault of that also belongs to the Government LA PRENSA, Jun. 9
https://www.newsroompanama.com/health/government-enabled-vaccine-black-market -
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Panama risks becoming “fallen angel” - Bank of America
08/06/2021
BofA Securities, the investment banking division of Bank of America, warns that Panama risks becoming another Latin American “fallen angel”.
Some of the report's conclusions are a direct consequence of the economic slowdown caused by Covid-19; while others are the product of structural lags that now put the country in check.
"In our opinion, three variables will determine whether Panama becomes a fallen angel or not: economic growth, pension reform, and -why not- fiscal", it points out.
Comparing the country's performance with a soccer game, BofA Securities specified that in 2021, Panama is scoring a goal in its favor, with the resumption of economic activity -after the longest confinement in the region-, but on the other hand, it is receiving two goals against. Although "there is time" to overcome the scoreboard.
One of the goals against has to do with the disappointing financial results of the first quarter of 2021 and that the government has not yet begun to tighten its belt to curb spending.
The second goal against the party for maintaining investment grade is “the fact that the Government has neither a pension reform plan nor a fiscal adjustment plan. This is something that can make markets increasingly nervous. And it puts Panama at a disadvantage, from now on ”.
Still, BofA Securities has made an upward revision of its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for 2021 and 2022.
The GDP growth estimate went from 8% to 9.5% for 2021, and from 4.5% to 5% in 2022. The analysis takes into account the performance of data associated with trade (exports and imports), ports, the Canal, and the Colon Free Zone, in addition to the production of food, cement, electricity production, mobility, and consumer confidence.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/panama-risks-becoming-fallen-angel-bank-of-america
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Clandestine vaccinations uncovered
A newly vaccinated patient leaves the Coco del Mar vaccine center
08/06/2021
Health authorities must carry out a thorough investigation in the case of an alleged clandestine vaccination that this media confirmed yesterday. It is a serious complaint, in which it would be necessary to determine if there was a fraud or if the people who were vaccinated received immunization doses from third parties that are under the strict custody of the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund. If the latter is the case, it is necessary to clarify how they reached private hands, if they were sold. And if this operation was never approved by the competent authority, then the weight of the law should fall on all those involved, since these vaccines would have been paid for with money from the State. And the punishment needs to be exemplary, both as if these were false vaccines and if they were true, since, in any case, it would be gambling with the health of the people who received these doses, clandestinely. But also, if it was a theft of vaccines, there is no doubt that their custodians will have to be investigated, if there were orders to deliver them and, in that case, who issued them. Health authorities risk their reputations on this investigation. LA PRENSA, Jun. 8
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/clandestine-vaccinations-uncovered
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