Moderator_03
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Journalist describes "on knees" Martinelli use of power
Posted 12/10/2021
With a sob-filled voice the journalist of the AM newscast of TVN Noticias, Castalia Pascual broke her silence on Tuesday, October 12, during the Mesa de periodistas program about the bitter personal experience that she lived in relation to the telephone interceptions during the administration of former president Ricardo Martinelli who is now facing a second wiretap trial.
Visibly affected by the memories of the experience, where the political power of Ricardo Martinelli (2009 - 2014) made her " kneel " and move away from the journalistic scene, Castalia Pascual reported that she was "violated and alone", after Martinelli gave the order to transfer a relative in recovery from addiction problems, to the La Joya Penitentiary Center in the worst conditions
“ After 18 months of treatment, he took him from a farm and put him in the worst cell in La Joya and I had to shut up and kneel to his power (…) It is the first time that I dare to speak. Martinelli told me not to mess with his children and I do not mess with your family," said the social communicator.
Pascual said that, in the middle of a last interview with the former president, he asked for forgiveness. In addition, she told the audience of the Mesa de Periodistas that after the revelation of this personal chapter in her life that it is related to the case of the telephone jabs, she declared herself prevented from addressing the issue.
The former Panamanian president, who is being tried on a second occasion for this case and whose trial is in the witness presentation phase, starred in an incident with former deputy José Luis “Popi” Varela outside the Accusatory Penal System on the morning of Monday, October 11 described as embarrassing by different sectors of society.
“And I have to say something very frank in front of my news director (Axel Rivera). I personally declare myself prevented from addressing this issue, ”said Pascual.
Regarding the wiretap case, Pascual stated that “ nothing is going to happen here. But the Panamanian people have to understand the seriousness of the problem so that no one else will use the power again for this. "
Martinelli is also being investigated for other cases related to corruption crimes
After the revelation, Pascual received thousands of messages of solidarity praising her for having the courage to speak out.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/journalist-describes-on-knees-martinelli-use-of-power
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Former deputy files complaint about Martinelli attack
Posted 12/10/2021
Former deputy José Luis Popi Varela filed a complaint against Ricardo Martinelli after he attacked him on Monday, October 11 as he was leaving the courtroom where the wiretapping trial of the former president is being heard.
Varela went to the Metropolitan Primary Care Prosecutor's Office to report the physical and verbal attacks made by Martinelli, shortly after he concluded his testimony before the trial court.
He announced that he is also preparing a complaint. There he narrated what the country saw on social networks: the brawl between two politicians at the facilities of the Accusatory Penal System (SPA) located in Plaza Ágora. Everything happened at the end of the cross-examination of Varela by the defense of Martinelli in the middle of the wiretapping trial of the ex-president for the wiretaps. The brother of former President Juan Carlos Varela was heading out of the court after the court officer returned his identity card. He opened the door and at that moment the ex-ruler threw a punch at him reports La Prensa.
Varela advanced went out into the corridor that leads to the courtroom and kicked Martinelli, but members of the security of the Judicial Body (OJ) and officials of the Institutional Protection Service (SPI) separated them. Martinelli continued hurling insults and Popi Varela answered him.
The incident did not end there. Instead of using the back exit of the building to leave the SPA, the former deputy went out through the main door and there a second verbal confrontation took place. Martinelli pounced on him saying: "drug dealer ... I have proof of it."
Members of the SPI and the security of the OJ intervened once more to prevent them from coming to blows.
Pity and compassion
Varela told Martinelli: "I have pity and compassion for you." He alleged that Martinelli was very upset by the number of criminal proceedings he has in various jurisdictions. He said that he has his plane detained in Guatemala and that has stressed him out.In a statement, Varela summarized his statement during the trial. He claims to have recognized 10 documentary pieces of evidence of "clear interventions and violations of his privacy and intimacy", and of his family.
He specified that these were private conversations held in the National Assembly and said that one of them was sent to the mail of the National Security Council the same day it was held. He mentioned three emails from his family [that were intercepted] dealing with personal matters.
The note also details that a person close to Martinelli warned him that his communications were being intercepted and gave him details of how it was carried out.
After the brawl, and once the trial was restarted in the afternoon, judges Ivette Francois, Jennifer Saavedra, and Marisol Osorio called for attention to the parties so that the session was carried out with respect and good behavior. Martinelli apologized to the judges and justified his action by claiming that he reacted in this way due to the constant attacks by the Varela family.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/former-deputy-files-complaint-about-martinelli-attack
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Electoral reform - pants made to measure
Posted 11/10/2021
There is no doubt that being a deputy in Panama is reaching something like Olympus. It is equivalent to filling yourself with privileges to see yourself above the common citizen.
The deputies are never happy with what they have and now, in the discussion of the reforms to the Electoral Code, have decided to maintain the electoral criminal jurisdiction, a figure whose proposal was to be eliminated. However, the "stars" of our democracy have decided that such a shield of impunity must continue, so that candidates and directors of political parties will once again be untouchable by law throughout the electoral campaign. Why resort to that figure if there is nothing to fear? It is that, as we all know, many of our politicians are criminals who find refuge in these figures to evade justice. And what better way than to legalize a flight in fact, allowing undesirable subjects to be part of the government gear. His reforms only seek to take care of their backs, legalizing impunity. His criminal attitude harms democracy and, consequently, the entire country. Thus, these - his reforms - lack legitimacy, as they are nothing more than a pair of pants made to measure. How long are we going to hold on? –https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/electoral-reform-pants-made-to-measure
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19,000 migrant children have crossed Darien jungle this year
Posted 11/10/2021
AFP – A record 19,000 migrant children crossed children have crossed the inhospitable and dangerous Darien jungle this year, between Colombia and Panama, en route to the United States, UNICEF warned this Monday, alarmed by that historical maximum.
"The number of migrant children who crossed the Darien Gap on foot has reached its historical maximum," despite being "one of the most dangerous places for migrants trying to reach North America," said a UNICEF report.
The flow of children registered "so far this year" is almost three times more than the number registered in the previous five years combined, "added the UN agency.
The Darien Gap, a 266-kilometer jungle area, has become a corridor for irregular migrants who, from South America, try to cross Central America and Mexico on their way to the United States.
More than 91,000 migrants have passed through that virgin forest, of 575 thousand hectares, in 2021, according to the registry updated to October of the National Migration Service of Panama, a figure equivalent to the total of the previous five years.
They are mostly Haitians and Cubans, although there are from various countries in Asia and Africa.
According to Unicef, one in five of these migrants are children, mainly from Haiti or from Haitian parents who had them during their stay in Chile or Brazil. Half of the 19,000 are under the age of five.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/world/19000-migrant-children-have-crossed-darien-jungle-this-year
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Electoral reforms can’t be a tailored suit – business execs
Posted 11/10/2021
The Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede), reacted on Monday, October 11, to the first debate of the electoral reform package and the modifications made by deputies of the Democratic Revolutionary Party and Democratic Change in the Government Commission of the Assembly General.
Apede president Elisa Suárez, accompanied by the members of the board of directors, said that the association requires, as a minimum, that the principles of equity, transparency, and accountability be respected when making any modification.
The Apede understands the power of the legislature to make changes to the proposals, while warning that, " modifications cannot be a tailored suit that favors any of the participants in a fair electoral contest."
In addition, the Apede has requested that the strongly expressed citizen clamor about safeguarding democratic principles, be heeded and those they elected really represent them.
They ask that "democratic principles be safeguarded and preserved, observing with concern the sister countries that are struggling in instability and chaos by choosing stone idols that only involve scenarios which we never want to see in our country."
"As a defender and guarantor, since its foundation, of the rule of law, freedom, and democracy, Apede has participated for several electoral exercises, as a representative of the employer sector, together with other organizations of civil society, in the National Commission of Electoral Reforms. That is why we have the power to demand that the proposals be reviewed with the respect that our Electoral Code deserves and, we deplore any action that does not lead to the purpose that the voters feel confident that their vote will be respected with absolute transparency and clarity … We are concerned that democracy will continue to be trivialized in the midst of populism, prebendary politics, and insider networks. Therefore, we strongly deplore any modification to the Electoral Code that does not comply with the principles that we have indicated.
The Apede requires both the Electoral Tribunal and the National Assembly to “fulfill their role of defending democracy."https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/electoral-reforms-cant-be-a-tailored-suit-business-execs
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Martinelli in brawl with prosecution witness
Ricardo Martinelli (left), Luis "Popi " Varela (right )
Posted 11/10/2021
Former president Ricardo Martinelli starred in a brawl on Monday, October 11 in the corridors of the courtroom where he is on trial for the unauthorized interceptions that took place in the last two years of his mandate (2012-2014).
The altercation was with former deputy José Luis “Popi” Varela, one of the four witnesses that the Public Ministry has presented so far, in the trial of the former president
"He threw and we hit each other," Varela acknowledged to journalists.
When Martinelli saw that the witness was talking to the media, he wanted to interrupt the interview, but the security agents guarding the First Judicial District of Panama prevented him.
The events took place, when Varela concluded his testimony, after three consecutive days of sworn statement, before the three judges that make up the trial court.
The judges declared a recess shortly before noon, to dismiss the witness and retire to lunch. It was at that moment, when they left the room, that Martinelli began to shout insults and profanity at Varela, who did not remain silent and responded to the expletives.
The exchange of screams and slaps continued in the hallway and continued to the parking lots when the security agents guarding the compound intervened reports La Prensa.
Varela was alone; Martinelli was in the company of his lawyers Sidney Sittón, Carlos Carrillo, Sherly Castañadea, Alfredo Vallarino, Jessica Canto and Roniel Ortiz. Everyone watched without intervening, but Canto repeated some insults her client-directed at the witness, particularly some related to his sexuality.
According to Martinelli, in addition to the insults, he had the opportunity to hit Varela. "He earned his fist," he said while some security agents surrounded him.
When Varela told reporters "we hit each other ... He threw me and I kicked him", in the background, one of Martinelli's lawyers replied: "he hit you."
"I have pity and compassion for you," Varela snapped.
"You are a drug dealer!" exclaimed Martinelli.
According to lawyer Sittón, Popi Varela's statement was plagued by “contradictions” and the witness accepted “that he did not see any communications interception equipment, much less an order from Ricardo Martinelli to intercept any person”.
Varela replied that Sittón is lying and that the lawyer "only had to ask me if I saw Mr. Martinelli opening the box when the Israeli pricking machine arrived." He added that Sittón is convicted, of slandering and insulting him, but by another process.
The former deputy is the fourth witness called by the prosecution. Earlier, a protected witness (a former CSN agent) appeared, who requested personal protection measures, given that he fears for his safety. The judges prohibited their name, voice, face, and testimony from being reproduced. However, that has not prevented the accused and his defense from constantly referring to him, on their social networks.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-in-brawl-with-prosecution-witness
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Drunk driver runs over foreign cyclists
Posted 10/10/2021
A drunk driver ran over two foreign cyclists on the Cinta Costera near the Seafood Market in Panama City at around 10.30 on Sunday morning. The driver fled the scene but was stopped by members of the Naval Air Service (SENAN) at a nearby roundabout.
The injured cyclists, one Italian and one Uruguayan had to be transferred to a local hospital. Their condition is unknown.
According to the National Operation Center "The DNOT carried out a breathalyzer test, marking 75 mg / dl, (proven drunkenness)," they explain on their Twitter account.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/drunk-driver-runs-over-foreign-cyclists
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Panama defeats USA in World Cup qualifier
Posted 10/10/2021
A goal from Aníbal Godoy at minute 54 ' was enough for Panama to defeat the United States 1-0 in a match where those led by Tomás Christiansen were fully superior and recovered their image after losing to El Salvador on a waterlogged field
Panama achieved its first victory at home since the start of the octagonal and it did so paradoxically on the same day that marks four years of the historic qualification for the World Cup in Russia. It was also the first time that Panama defeated the US, one of the 'giants' of Concacaf. in a World Cup qualifier.
With the victory, Panama reaches 8 points and is in the third position of the final octagonal table of Concacaf towards the World Cup in Qatar 2022.
Spectators had to be fully vaccinated against covid-19.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/entertainment/panama-defeats-usa-in-world-cup-qualifier
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Job recovery must be common obsession - business chamber
Posted 10/10/2021
The recovery of jobs in Panama must be a common obsession says the president of Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture Jose Ramón Icza in the Chamber’s weekly bulletin.
Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs need to be able to start their operations after 18 months of mobility restrictions and activities closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "You have to act as soon as possible," he said.
He recalled that the restrictions have finally been almost completely eliminated, "which will allow the reconstruction of the business fabric and the reactivation of its main asset: human resources.".
However, this process will be accelerated "as long as" access to the necessary supports is available. "Hence, the Chamber of firmly supports the immediate implementation of the multi-sector guarantee program agreed upon at the work table between the business sector and the Government."
The union requested the immediate implementation of the joint venture program approved in May by the Executive Branch for the Panamanian tourism sector.
He recalled that at the beginning of the pandemic when the restriction measures were implemented, the Government of President Laurentino Cortizo made available to the business sector, especially small and medium-sized companies, funds provided by different multilaterals.
"However, in all this time their use has been limited, given that the conditions established to access them do not take into account the financial situation of the companies in an environment of prolonged closure," emphasized Icaza.
In a tour that the Chamber has made throughout the country, it has met with entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized companies, who have confirmed the difficulties they have in accessing these credits, revealed Icaza.
He added that everyone agrees that the demands to obtain these loans obviate the current reality caused by the pandemic.
"Given this situation, it is necessary to create a sense of urgency, these credits must be implemented immediately, taking into account the reality described above," he said.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/job-recovery-must-be-common-obsession-business-chamber
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One dead 3 critically hurt in dawn crash
Posted 09/10/2021
One person was killed and three critically injured on Via Espana near the Avesa building in the capital city when the driver of a speeding pickup truck lost control at dawn on Saturday, October 9. According to preliminary reports at least four vehicles were involved in the incident
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/one-dead-3-critically-hurt-in-dawn-crash
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Panama’s shameful poisoning legacy
Survivors protesting at the Supreme Court 3 years ago. They are still waiting !
Posted 09/10/2021
Hundreds of people continue o suffer the consequences of having ingested medicines produced by the Social Security Fund contaminated with diethylene glycol. This has been one of the worst medical tragedies in the world, - for the number of people poisoned and for the number who have died - it has been much worse than the one suffered by about a hundred people in the United States in 1938, triggering the creation of the Federal Law of Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics of that country.
This month marks the 15th anniversary of this catastrophe, which has left a deep trace of pain, at the same time it has become an embarrassment for our public health system, which has treated victims of the poisoning with very little empathy. Patients have had to fight tooth and nail every little conquest to receive treatment or compensation from the state. The authorities have forgotten that they owe a debt to all those affected, but with each passing year, the 2006 scandal is buried under the weight of inhuman indifference and carelessness and by government shamelessness, incapable of assuming its responsibility in this done. Is this our solidarity Panama? – LA PRENSA Oct. 9.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/panamas-shameful-poisoning-legacy
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Wiretap victims testify at Martinelli trial
Posted 09/10/2021
Two more victims of wiretaps carried out by the National Security Council between 2012 and 2014, appeared in the trial of former president Ricardo Martinelli on Friday, October 8.
They are the communicator and lawyer Guido Rodríguez and the former deputy José Luis Popi Varela, brother of former president Juan Carlos Varela .
Rodríguez stated that his emails were intercepted without judicial authorization when he was a news director at TVN.
He also reported that when he was managing El Panamá América, he sent an email to the EFE news agency regarding an event in Washington. He was surprised to learn that the then Panamanian ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Guillermo Cochez, was aware of this communication, who in turn told Rodríguez that the information had been provided by the newly appointed attorney Giuseppe Bonissi.
Varela said that he was the object of illegal wiretapping, monitoring, and surveillance. He narrated that a personal advisor to the ex-president described in great detail a series of photographs that Martinelli supposedly showed him and that were adjusted to intimate situations that only he and his family could know.
At one point during his statement in Court, Varela raised his right hand and pointed with his index finger at the "man dressed in jeans between Roniel Ortiz and Sidney Sittón."
The defendant demanded a counteroffensive. Then Sittón took the floor and asked judges Iveth Francois, Jennifer Saavedra, and Marysol Osorio that the witness stop targeting his client.
The judges asked Varela to be more restrained, and that he could only point to the accused if requested by a representative of the Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime.
The prosecutor in charge, Ildeman Camaño, asked Varela to identify the person he was referring to. Varela pointed directly at Martinelli, who spread his arms defiantly.
The cross-examination of Varela continues on Monday.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/wiretap-victims-testify-at-martinelli-trial
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Health Minister waffles on sex-ed in schools
Posted 09/10/2021
After the publication of a UN report revealing that schoolgirl pregnancies in 2019 cost Panama $525 million Health Minister Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, said he was in favor of sexual education in schools for young people. “As a doctor and minister, I think so. Our youth and children are living very advanced times, ”he said on Friday, October.
He indicated that in technical and scientific matters "we have to guide them", especially at an appropriate stage: "not too early, but not too late" reports La Prensa.
However, Minister Sucre said that because it is a "very neuralgic and very sensitive issue" they should sit at the table " with the church and other organizations to make a decision.
According to Sucre, this issue "is not a sole and exclusive decision of the Ministry of Health."
Previous attempts at introducing sex-ed to Panama schools have been stymied by opposition from church groups who have used the pulpit to rally opponents.
According to the study Socio-economic consequences of adolescent pregnancy in Panama, prepared by the United Nations Population Fund, adolescent pregnancies that were registered in 2019 represented an economic cost for the country of $525 million.
Of that amount, $495 million correspond to the socioeconomic cost, which includes factors such as the opportunity cost per work activity, the opportunity cost of work income, and the opportunity cost per job.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/health-minister-waffles-on-sex-ed-in-schools
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Biden nominates new US ambassador to Panama
Posted 08/10/2021
President Joe Biden nominated Mari Carmen Aponte as the new US ambassador to Panama on Friday, October 8.
Aponte's nomination will be evaluated by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will interview her in private and then hold a public hearing.
If approved by the commission, Aponte's candidacy as ambassador of Panama goes to the full Senate, where she must have 51 votes to receive approval for her appointment.
Among the previous positions that Aponte has held are that of US Ambassador to El Salvador and Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere.
The US government also highlights that Aponte served on the board of directors of Oriental Financial Group in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and as executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration at the Commonwealth Federal Agency in Washington, DC.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/biden-nominates-new-us-ambassador-to-panama-1
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Schoolgirl pregnancies cost Panama $525 million in a year
Posted 08/10/2021
Teen pregnancies in Panama in 2019 represented a cost to the country of $525 million says a report on socio-economic consequences of teenage pregnancy in Panama , prepared by the UN Population Fund.
José Manuel Pérez a representative in Panama of the Population Fund, said that the amount is equivalent to what the State would lose if the Canal stopped working for more than three months. "If measures are not taken, the consequences of not addressing the issue can generate irreversible economic losses," he said
Of that amount, $495 million correspond to the socioeconomic cost, which includes factors such as the opportunity cost per work activity, the opportunity cost of work income, and the opportunity cost per job.
The health cost includes $15.3 million for social loss due to maternal mortality and health care expenses for adolescent pregnancies. Also, on the tax impact, $15 million for foregone income.
In 2019, the Panama Canal Authority transferred $1.824.1 billion to the national treasury. The figure is equivalent to almost $5 million per day of operation of the Canal, said Perez.
Every action to prevent teenage pregnancy is an act to ensure the development and growth of the country. "If measures are not taken, the consequences of not dealing with adolescent pregnancy can generate irreversible economic losses, both for girls and adolescents and for the country as a whole," said Pérez,
The reports presented by Unfpa and the Ministry of Health (Minsa) show alarming figures for teenage pregnancies since the fertility rate for young people between 15 and 19 years of age is 67.2 live births for every 1,000 women.
Statistics from the Comptroller General of the Republic show that in 2019 there were 11,809 live births in adolescent mothers (15 to 19 years old)
The resident coordinator of the United Nations system in Panama, Cristian Munduate, remarked that teenage pregnancy is linked to poverty and the reproduction of social inequalities; at the same time, it reflects situations of sexual violence and abuse, and that early motherhood is linked to the difficulties in creating a protective and stimulating home environment for children.
Last year, according to data from Minsa, 9,724 young people between the ages of 10 and 19 entered prenatal care in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic - at their dependency facilities. There are 5,072 young people more than those who entered control in 2019 when there were 4,652. These statistics do not include the population that received care in the Social Security Fund or in private clinics.
Sex education
Currently, in a National Assembly Committee bill, 657 is under analysis, aiming to establish an education program for the prevention of pregnancies in minors, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual crimes.The legislative initiative was presented on August 4 by independent deputies Gabriel Silva and Juan Diego Vásquez.
Since 2008, there have been three controversies unleashed in the country around comprehensive sexual education, from the presentation before the National Assembly of different bills that sought, to adopt public policies inherent to the issue reports La Prensa. They have all been stalled by church groups who bring thousand of protestors on the streets.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/schoolgirl-pregnancies-cost-panama-525-million-in-a-year
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Guatemala orders seizure of Martinelli plane
Posted 08/10/2021
Guatemala has ordered the seizure of the private plane belonging to the family of former president Ricardo Martinelli.
The plane had been detained last February at the La Aurora airport at the request of the United States.
The information was released by Canal Antigua de Guatemala, which said that the seizure was ordered on September 2, by the Domain Extinction Court.
The journalist Sergio Osegueda, from Canal Antigua, wrote that with this action, the Public Ministry of Guatemala, through the Domain Extinction Prosecutor's Office, “could request that the aircraft pass into the hands of the State of Guatemala if it is determined that there are no anomalies in its acquisition ”.
It is the same plane with registration N799RM that was waiting for Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, when they were detained in La Aurora, on July 6, 2020, for an extradition request from the United States.
The US Department of Commerce had requested the seizure of the plane an action that the National Civil Police carried out on February 26 of this year. That kidnapping was carried out by the Prosecutor's Office against Drug Trafficking.
The aircraft, with a capacity for 15 passengers was acquired in 2005, is registered to the Bank of Utah Trustee, of Salt Lake City.
Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares remain detained in the Mariscal Zavala military prison, waiting for their delivery to the United States to be determined.
The prosecution for the Eastern District of New York has filed three charges against Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique: one for allegedly conspiring to launder money, and two more, for hiding information about money laundering.
Luis Enrique faces two additional charges, for the alleged use of money obtained through money laundering.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/guatemala-orders-seizure-of-martinelli-plane
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“Don’t sacrifice Panama” - Transparency International in wake of Pandora Papers
Posted 07/10/2021
The Panama chapter of Transparency International has published a withering indictment of government inaction and called on Government and the offshore services private sector “to make the changes required by the standards of transparency and international cooperation against money laundering and not to sacrifice the rest of the country with the cost reputational, economic, legal and ethical caused by a non-viable management model ”.
The call comes after the publication of the Pandora Papers , by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ According to the TI-, the investigation has once again confronted Panama with a dilemma between the ethical and the legal, given the role it still plays in the international empowerment of organized crime, corruption and money laundering, after the Leakage of documents from 14 financial vehicle providers, including two Panamanians.
“The information disclosed in the leak shows that it is a pending task for the country -both in the public and private sectors- to stop being enablers of a parallel system that allows criminals of diverse nature to hide, move and enjoy their ill-gotten wealth. , promote fraud, international bribery, tax evasion, among others, all crimes constituting money laundering. How many local offshore service providers in the country are still enablers? ”asks TI-Panama.
According to the letter, the regulatory changes introduced since 2016, when the cases related to the Mossack Fonseca firm were published, "were not sufficient or timely." The organization recalls that since the year 2000 when the first qualification as a non-cooperative country was received, until the formalization of its permanence on the blacklist of the European Union, “the country has complied half enforced - with the recommendations for a change of management and regulation, often without the political will to do so.
The sector that provides offshore services has disproportionately influenced, managing to maintain the status quo, wielding -in addition- a nationalist discourse that does little to effectively address the problem, its causes, and effects ”.
The note indicates that in offshore systems “organized crime and corrupt politicians who have promised to comply with their laws hide, do not do so and demand, with sanctions included, their citizens to do so. They hide fortunes resulting from the looting of our countries - in all regions - in corrupt and corrupting schemes, which divert the resources that the populations need ”.
One of the aspects that reflects the weak implementation of laws has to do with the private and unique registry of final beneficiaries, which was approved by law in March 2020 and whose implementation is still pending. A registry of this type, especially open to the public, -something that has not been contemplated in the law- “would be a step to bring us closer, through transparency, so that legal persons engaged in legal activities can perform safely and close the siege of those that are vehicles for crime and corruption ”, TI-Panama points out.
The organization claims that the country must confront that "an opaque and laissez-faire model of generating and selling people and legal instruments from almost a century ago, without greater responsibilities, does not hold up in the digital age and proactive transparency." Added to this is the lack of institutional tools to prevent conflicts of interest in the public sector and to enforce the law, given the weakness of the regulatory, criminal justice, and control institutions.
“There is an ethical duty in not making it easier for the corrupt and criminals to have a place to hide, the arguments that others who demand it do not do so and that the country and the economic sector that provide the service are not responsible are unviable. As unviable as pretending to be an international financial center in a permanent struggle against the rest of the international financial community and international standards. The management model of both the Government and the offshore services sector must change to the viability of the new normal of corporate and economic transparency that allows Panama to act with legitimacy in the international community. Not to do so would be to continue sacrificing the rest of the country at a reputational, economic, legal and ethical cost that we are already paying in excess of, ”says TI-Panama.
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Panama economy will grow 9% this year - World Bank
Posted 07/10/2021
Panama’s economy will grow 9.9% this year, according to a new report published by the World Bank.
According to this forecast, Panama would be among the countries with the highest growth rate in Latin America, behind Guyana (21.2%), Peru (11.3%), and Chile (10.6%).
For next year, the international organization's estimate for Panama is a growth of 7.5%, also among the highest in the continent.
In a press conference with the region's media, William Maloney the Bank's chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean briefly referred to the evolution of the Panamanian economy.
He said that the country received strong blows in sectors such as tourism and air transport, and stressed the importance of reactivating them. He also noted that there are similar challenges to the rest of the region, such as greater integration, improving infrastructure, and the quality of education to improve growth rates in the medium term.
Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole will grow 6.3% in 2021, which will not be enough to completely reverse the 6.7% contraction recorded last year.
The agency noted that to achieve the growth rate necessary to move the region forward and reduce social tensions, reforms must be urgently carried out in the areas of infrastructure, education, health, energy policy, and innovation, in addition to facing the new challenges of climate change.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/panama-economy-will-grow-9-this-year-world-bank
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Cortizo hands Supreme Court majority to women
Posted 07/10/2021
The appointment of two women to Panama’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday marks the first time that the bench will have a female majority starting in January.
President Cortizo named Miriam Yadira Chen Rosas as magistrate of the First Civil Chamber, and María Cristina Stanziola, magistrate of the Third Administrative and Labor.
Chen Rosas was appointed to replace Hernán De León, while Stanziola replaces Luis Ramón Fábrega, whose terms expireson December 31.
The appointments must be ratified by the National Assembly,
"For the first time in the history of the Republic, our Supreme Court of Justice has five women among its nine magistrates," said Cortizo.
The president also appointed Ariadne Maribel García as alternate judge of the First Civil Chamber, and Salvador Domínguez Barrios as alternate judge of the Third Administrative and Labor Litigation Chamber. In addition, it appointed Isis Omaris Joseph Garzón as an alternate magistrate for Magistrate Cecilio Cedalise, in the Third Chamber.
The president stressed that the selection process responded "to the need to have magistrates characterized by their independence, criteria, commitment, knowledge and character," as it was done in 2019 when he appointed three main magistrates and six alternate magistrates.“Once again I fulfill this responsibility, by filling the vacancies produced by virtue of the expiration of the constitutional period of two main magistrates and their respective alternates. One of them for the First Civil Chamber, and another for the Third Administrative and Labor Chamber ”, stated the president
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https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/cortizo-hands-supreme-court-majority-to-women
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First victims called in Martinelli wiretap trial
Posted 06/10/2021
Stanley Motta and Aurelio Barría were the first victims to be called on Wednesday, October 6 in the trial of former President Ricardo Martinelli, for the alleged interception of communications and monitoring, persecution, and surveillance without judicial authorization.
The first to appear before was Barría, who acknowledged a personal email that he sent in 2013, in which he reflected on the electoral political landscape in the face of the May 2014 elections.
Barría stated that this email was addressed only to a friend, who was in Colombia. He denied that his electronic communications were hacked, that he had shared the password with anyone, or that his computer was accessible to anyone else.
The witness told the judges that he always suspected that Martinelli was spying on his communications and said that on one occasion, during a shareholders' meeting of Corporación La Prensa, Martinelli - who was then President – publicly acknowledged that he had the information and the “ pedigree ”of those who were present.
On another occasion, he was interviewed in the Knockout segment of the journalist Flor Mizrachi, from La Prensa, and shortly afterward Martinelli called him to tell him that he had already been identified as an opponent of his government and threatened to reveal matters of his private sphere.
Regarding the testimony given by Motta, the prosecutor Ricardo González said that the businessman recognized two of his emails, which he sent to executives of TVN Media , about the "escape" of a journalist to another television station, and another about the labeling of alcoholic beverages. which was imposed in the Martinelli government. Both emails were intercepted.
Carlos Herrera Delegado, attorney for the victim and plaintiff Mitchell Doens, considers that the most important thing is that those affected recognize the correspondence, audios, videos, and any other type of documentation stolen by agents of the National Security Council (CSN) , between the years 2012 to 2014.
He explained that beyond the details that the experts and technical personnel may provide, the victims are the only fully able to recognize the contents and thus be able to establish whether, in fact, they were intercepted by the CSN.
For these same events, Gustavo Pérez and Alejandro Garuz - both directors of the CSN in the Martinelli government - were sentenced to 60 months in prison. The conviction was appealed.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/first-victims-called-in-martinelli-wiretap-trial
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Human chain protests Assembly ’dictatorship’
Posted 06/10/2021
Protests against lawmakers’ handling of the National Assembly debate on electoral reforms continue with hundreds of people arriving on Wednesday, October 6 at the corner of Novey, old Danté on Calle 50 to form a human chain. They attended with flags and banners carrying messages like: "Electoral fraud" and "Nito, I was wrong about you’"
Aurelio Barría, an ex-civilista, said that this movement seeks to “stop” what the “parliamentary dictatorship” approved in the Assembly. He argued that the deputies do not want to endorse some proposals presented, among them, that there is no criminal jurisdiction, that there is a more equitable electoral subsidy in favor of independent candidates and gender parity.
The changes to project 544, which destroy the one-year work of the Electoral Reform Commission –which brings together all sectors–, have provoked protests from citizens, who demand transparency and equality for a fair contest.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/human-chain-protests-assembly-dictatorship
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Plane makes emergency landing on highway
Posted 06/10/2021
A student pilot got an unscheduled lesson in emergency landing on Tuesday afternoon when the plane on a training flight developed engine trouble and the instructor chose the Panama-Colón highway at Kuna Nega for the touchdown. Neither of the two occupants was injured… QED.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-highway
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Truckers block city routes, seeking talks with Cortizo
Posted 05/10/2021
In the early hours of Tuesday, October 5, The United Dump Trucks of Panama and Similar closed Balboa Avenue and Cinta Costera demanding to speak “not with subordinates” but directly with President Laurentino Cortizo.
The protesters placed their trucks across the roadways causing a major traffic jam.
They demand that they be taken into account in the projects carried out by the Government to reactivate the country's economy, said spokespersons for the group.
In a statement, the association affirmed that "it is not going to negotiate with subordinates" and that, instead, they seek to speak directly with the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo .
The National Police is at the site of the protest.
Subsequently, the Vice Minister of Internal Commerce and Industries, Omar Montilla, moved to Balboa Avenue and called on the protesters to continue talking in order to resolve their disagreements.
Information in development
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/truckers-block-city-routes-seeking-talks-with-cortizo-1
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Work begins on Metro Line 3
Posted 05/10/2021
The construction phase of the piles that will support Metro line 3, which will connect the provinces of Panama and Panama Oeste began on Tuesday, October 5.
According to a Metro report, a total of 1,450 piles are required along the 24.5 kilometers of the work, which goes from the Panama Pacifico sector to Ciudad del Futuro.
"The piloting works will begin on two fronts: on the viaduct corresponding to the San Bernardino area and the Ciudad del Futuro Station, the last station on line 3," said a Metro statement.
The construction of a pile takes three to four days and that this stage will advance in accordance with the work execution schedule. To this end, road adjustments, liberation of areas and relocation of public services will be made.
On the Ciudad del Futuro Station, it is specified that it will be located in front of the Pan-American highway, at the entrance of this community and two accesses will be built to meet the demand.
“Currently, at this point the plan for the rescue and relocation of the flora and fauna, as well as the removal of the vegetation the latter in areas necessary for the development of the work. Additionally, the earth movement has begun ”, it was reported.
The HPH, Joint Venture consortium, made up of the companies Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd, and Posco Engineering Construction, received on February 22 the order to proceed to execute the work that will cost $ 2.844 billion and the works will have a duration of 52 months.
To connect the two provinces, a tunnel will be built that will cross the Panama Canal whose construction has not yet been tendered.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/work-begins-on-metro-line-3
The continuing story of Ricardo Martinelli, his family and trials
in Corruption, Fraud, and Scandals - Investigations / Prosecutions
Posted
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/witnesses-in-wiretap-trial-offered-protection