Moderator_03
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Gang warfare moves into upscale neighborhoods
Posted 08/09/2021
Gang warfare has extended its reach from the red areas to sectors like Costa del Este, Clayton, and San Francisco where no crime boss is safe from summary execution.
Public Ministry (MP) investigators who deal with organized crime issues say "They get economic resources from drugs and try to hide in exclusive areas to simulate a decent life,".
But their rivals, with their information networks, locate them and are capable of executing them anywhere. No one is safe, not even the neighbors.
The authorities believe that the shooting of Juan David Peláez Guzmán in the PH Diamond Tower, in San Francisco, in September fits this profile. Police found11 packages of drugs in his apartment
A little earlier, on August 28, Ovidio Omar Castro, alias Tulip, known by the police as the "capo de Nuevo Veranillo" was assassinated in Multiplaza parking lots. He appeared on the payroll of the Mayor's Office of San Miguelito.
The day before, the shooting murder of Alexander Ricardo García Vergara was reported on Calle 70 in San Francisco. His executioners surprised them while having a beer in a Lebanese restaurant.
The modality is not new. In March 2015, Eduardo Macea, alias Marshall, who was staying in an apartment on Naos Island, valued at about $500,000, was captured. A month later, the authorities apprehended Juan Vicente Blandford White, alias El Patron Juancito, in a residential area in Clayton. Both were wanted crimes of gang activity and drug trafficking.
On Saturday, September 4, while the Minister of Security Juan Pino, accompanied by the director of the National Police, John Dornheim, the deputy director Simón Henríquez and the director of the National Aeronaval Service, Jeremías Urieta, participated in an operation against crime organized in Patio Pinel in El Chorrillo and San Miguel in Calidonia, another case shook the capital.
In broad daylight on the Fernández de Córdoba road, near Vía España, unknown persons unloaded a burst of bullets at a truck in which two men were traveling killing one leaving the other critically injured.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/gang-warfare-moves-into-upscale-neighborhoods
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August reached three-year homicide peak as drug wars rage
Posted 07/09/2021
August 2021 ended with the highest homicide rate in the last three years, according to the National Police Director, Jhon Dorheim, during an accounting of crime statistics.
Dorheim detailed that August closed with a total of 48 homicides, 19 more than those registered for the year 2020 when a total of 29 murders were perpetrated and 3 more than in 2019, when 45 murders were registered.
He said that 83% of these crimes were committed with firearms and that most of them were related to drug trafficking.
He said that crimes related to domestic violence registered a decrease, detailing that in 2020 a total of 1,018 cases were reported and that until August 2021 there were 786.
He also stated that the crime of theft marked a decrease with 281 in 2020 and only 231 until August of the current year.
He reported that during August the Police managed to capture 43 people linked to homicides and that 60% of crimes are solved within three months.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/august-reached-three-year-homicide-peak-as-drug-wars-rage
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Colon Free Zone springs back to life
Posted 07/09/2021
The Colon Free Zone (ZLC) ended the first half of the year with sales of $8,226 billion.
The figure represents an increase of 26.8% compared to the first half of 2020, but is still below the results of the first half of 2019, when sales amounted to $9.185 billion.
Last year, commercial activity in the free zone remained at minimum levels due to the mobility restrictions implemented by the Government to combat the spread of the Covid-19 disease.
Giovanni Ferrari , manager of the ZLC, acknowledged that the free zone is immersed in a process of recovery, but the activity is still somewhat distant from the data prior to the pandemic.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/colon-free-zone-springs-back-to-life
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Police arrest suspected hitman
A 21-year-old man with the alias Rober allegedly involved in the shooting in Vista Hermosa on Saturday which left one person dead and another severely injured, will appear before a Judge of Guarantees on Monday. He was arrested on Sunday.
Posted 05/09/2021
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/police-arrest-suspected-hitman
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New car sales rising but far from pre-pandemic
Posted 05/09/2021
New car sales are recovering faster than the industry expected, but are a long way from pre-pandemic levels.
In the month of August 24,731 units have been sold, which represents a growth of 98% compared to the the12,467 units sold in 2020, according to the figures from Panama the Association of Automobile Dealers (Adap).
The strong growth is due to the fact that sales in April, May, and part of June 2020 were almost nil because dealers were not operating due to mandatory closures said Anthony Salerno, president of Adap.
When the accumulated figures up to August 2021 are compared with the same period in 2019, sales reflect a decrease of 21%. The monthly average for this year is about 3,100 vehicles, down from the nearly 4,000 registered two years ago.
"We are still far from pre-pandemic figures, which is understandable, but if we bet on the economic reactivation and, to a large extent, the reactivation of jobs, we can see the recovery of the sector with more optimistic lights," he said.
Salerno said that the goal at the beginning of 2021 was to exceed 30,000 units, but "due to the demand perceived in recent months, we are confident of reaching a market of more than 36,000 units of new cars sold."
Everything will depend, however, on the challenge facing the sector, with reduced inventory levels due to global limitations to the supply chain and logistical complications, factors that put pressure on prices, he explained.
From a marketing point of view, the sector has adapted to the new requirements imposed by the pandemic and has been holding virtual fairs, in which users can find products, financing offers, and car insurance in a digital market.
Salerno also referred to the role that banks play in this sector, both to finance dealer operations and to purchase vehicles from customers. "The activation of consumption and its financing will be important players in the speed of recovery of our economy," he said
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/new-car-sales-rising-but-far-from-pre-pandemic
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Business Chamber demands transparency in Minera talks
Posted 05/09/2021
While Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (CCIAP), considers that the negotiations between Minera Panama and the Panamanian State represent a positive step, they want them to take place within a framework of transparency and access to information.
The Chamber recognizes that the negotiation is important for the history and future of the country and insists that the State must carry out a review of the mining policy framed in an economic policy, which considers in which areas the country wants to focus the engines of economic growth. They affirm that it is extremely critical to strengthening the supervisory institutions, as well as the updating of the legal framework that must monitor and regulate the fulfillment of the commitments reached at the negotiating table.
Because it is a subject that includes multiple aspects, the union has established an internal commission, made up of members unrelated to the parties, which will allow the CCIAP to analyze the information emanating from the negotiations in a professional manner and adopt impartial positions.
What is decided at the table between the Panamanian State and the company will set a precedent, so this negotiation must be 'win-win ', a fair balance must be achieved that recognizes remuneration for the mineral resource that is extracted and reasonable profitability that takes into account the risks associated with the activity.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/business-chamber-demands-transparency-in-minera-talks
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Two gangland “heavies” shot in Vista Hermosa
Posted 05/09/2021
Two gangland leaders were injured on Saturday in a hail of bullets from hitmen in another moving car, on Vista Hermosa on the section between the Metro station and the shopping center that houses Super 99.
In broad daylight, the white car in which the wounded were traveling was shot at least 20 times, causing hysteria among people who were shopping in the mall.
One of the injured was Luis Andrés González Moreno, alias "Andresito", 32 years old and residing in Panama Viejo.
The subject has been investigated -according to the authorities- in cases of homicide and maintains a rivalry with a criminal group from Villa del Rey.
After the murder of Ricauerte Villasanta, alias "Tercero" in the Mega Joya, Jail he is considered one of the leaders of the groups from Panama Viejo.
The other injured is Alexis Javier Hudson Varela, 27, who lives in Los Nogales. In 2015 he was investigated and detained for a murder case, but he was released. In 2020, he was arrested aboard a car that, when verified, was found to belong to a subject murdered in September 2019.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/two-gangland-heavies-shot-in-vista-hermosa
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H & M - New kid on the block
Posted 04/09/2021
The Swedish fast fast-fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), has defied conventional thinking and opened a new store in Panama in the midst of an economic downturn brought on by the global pandemic.
The 2,200 square-meter store opened its doors Saturday, September 4 at the Multiplaza shopping center and it has a logistics center in Panama Pacifico
Jaime Sampol, general manager of Hola Moda, the franchise that exclusively manages the H&M brand for Central America, said that after evaluating several markets in the expansion plan, they decided to bet on Panama as a leading country for its privileged geographical location, potential for economic growth and great commercial boost in the region.
Through the regional logistics center, H&M will handle all the procurement of orders and supply of clothing, footwear, and accessories that will arrive directly from its factories in China and Germany other centers.
So far the opening has created up to 90 jobs Sampol said, indicating that the expectations are to continue growing with the hiring of more personnel.
H&M is present in Panama through Hola Moda, a Panamanian company, created for the exclusive purpose of managing the H&M store franchise in Central America, constituted and operated by a group of local investors, with experience in retail sales and management of international marks
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/h-m-new-kid-on-the-block
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Banking snafu draws ire of customers and regulators
Posted 04/09/2021Police arrived as mediators at some Banco General branches on Saturday morning after Customer complaints reversals in their accounts.
The bank communicated that “the charges made will be reversed in the next few hours”.
Banco General apologized for these charges made Friday, September 3.
Banco General clients reported on social networks the charges made to their accounts,
which ended up causing variations in their money balances. Some of these clients went to the branches to make the respective inquiries.
Bank staff stressed the apologies of the entity at the time that people approached the branches.
In some branches, agents of the National Police were present to mediate between clients, who indicated that their accounts were without money.
The Superintendency of Banks deplored the events that occurred with the affected clients. They pointed out that as banking regulators, they continue to provide follow-up to "seek a legal
balance between the banking system and its clients."
“We categorically demand that the banking entities act prudently and transparently.”
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/banking-snafu-draws-ire-of-customers-and-regulators
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Organized Crime penetrates political system
Posted 03/09/2021
The malfeasance of the National Assembly breaks through with its reforms to the Electoral Code. The information we have received in recent weeks feeds and justifies the fears that drug trafficking and organized crime have penetrated the political parties - especially the PRD - whose leadership neither keeps appearances nor cleans up its ranks. The words and actions of Benicio Robinson align with those of the President of the Republic and those of his colleagues Raúl Pineda and Crispiano Adames, when he said that "in this country we cannot continue to call everyone a thief, a thug," to conclude that if a person has been convicted and served his sentence, "we have to see how to give him a chance." And he has no better idea than to receive money for their electoral campaigns. You just have to imagine the favors that will be owed to those "reformed", many of whom, after paying their sentence, continue to commit crimes. And of those cases, there are plenty of them. There is no doubt that this breed owes favors and pays for them with bills that are true insults to decent citizens. The country cannot continue to entrust its legal security to people who display the most arrogant malfeasance and who pledge our electoral system in exchange for staying in power at all costs.- LA PRENSA, Sep. 3.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/organized-crime-penetrates-political-system
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Twin probes into mental health center
Posted 03/09/2021
The Public Ministry has already begun to contact people who have reported abuse and discriminatory acts at the National Institute of Mental Health (Insam) following articles published in La Prensa describing the “hell” within the institution
The action comes after the attorney general in charge Javier Caraballo announced an investigation into the reports of patients who denounced libidinous acts, humiliation, verbal abuse, threats, discrimination, and violation of their human rights, by Insam personnel.
On Thursday morning, the National Assembly Commission for Women, Children, Youth and Family chaired by deputy Zulay Rodríguez, formed a sub-committee to investigate the facts.
Deputy Emily García Miró, from the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), will lead this group, which also includes Corina Cano, from the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement, and Edwin Zúñiga, from Democratic Change.
The independent deputy Gabriel Silva had already referred to the issue. "This warrants an investigation by the Public Ministry," he said.
Hours after the legislative sub-committee was created, the Public Ministry announced an investigation into the matter.
The La Prensa investigation revealed patient testimonies about libidinous acts, humiliation, verbal abuse, threats, discrimination, and violation of their human rights by Insam personnel.
There are stories of patients who were admitted temporarily, mostly voluntarily, with the purpose of seeking help to deal with mental health problems.
While Juana Herrera, director of the institution, said on Telemetro that they reported the situation to the Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, and added that he "issued all the instructions." It did not specify what those actions are, but they would be “criminal proceedings and administrative proceedings. All of this took place at the time and is ongoing ”, explained Herrera.
However, so far the Ministry of Health has not ruled on the issue.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/health/twin-probes-into-mental-health-center
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170 Immigrants Raped in Darien Gap
Posted 02/09/2021
The National Assembly has in its possession, information that migrants who cross the Darien Gap are victims of sexual abuse.
Deputy Elías Vigil, who chairs the sub-commission formed by the Assembly to analyze the complaints, assured that migrants are denouncing that those who abuse minors and adult women are indigenous.
“That is painful because they are minors from 5 to 8 years old until 15 years old. Wives who come with their husbands are raped in front of their partners. This is worrying, "said the deputy.
The deputy explained that the migrants report that the abuses are committed by groups of people.
Official figures speak of 20 rapes, but the doctors in charge, according to Congressman Vigil, handle a report of up to 170 rapes in two months.
Migrants who are only passing through Panama do not want to file complaints because of the paperwork and embarrassment. In addition, they have the objective of continuing their way to the United States.
“Something must be done. We cannot remain silent ... (and let this go) unpunished, "said Deputy Zulay Rodríguez.
Panama and Colombia established a daily flow of 650 people to cross the border of both countries.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/170-immigrants-raped-in-darien-gap-1
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Tourism Authority hands over convention center administration
Posted 03/09/2021
After a 3-year wait, the American company SMG Latin America received from the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) , the administration of the Panama Convention Center, located in Amador.
The company was selected at the beginning of 2018 to operate and market the building with a capacity of 24,000 people, but construction delays its inception in 2012, delayed the entry of SMG.
The company signed a six-year contract, with a renewal option for an additional five years. For the first six years, SMG will receive $2.1 million, but will also receive commissions from the sale of food and beverages.
The PCC was built on a 10-hectare lot located behind the Figali convention center. It has 1,715 outdoor parking spaces, 200 that are under roof and 18 exclusive spaces for buses.
The exhibition area is 15 thousand square meters. This area can be divided into three sections of approximately 5,000 square meters, each with its own separate systems. The exhibition area in the new convention center is equivalent to the total footprint of Atlapa.
At the end of September, the new congress hall will host the final date of the National Tourism Convention organized by the Panama Chamber of Tourism, and in November it will be home to the congress of the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), an event that will bring together 5,000 executives from the industry seeking to get back on track after the debacle caused by the coronavirus.
Both events are expected to give the Panama hotel industry a much-needed fillip.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/tourism-authority-hands-over-convention-center-administration
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Son of Ex-President Martinelli loses Final Extradition Appeal
Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares
Posted 01/09/2021
The Constitutional Court of Guatemala rejected the processing of an unconstitutionality appeal filed by Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, against the law that regulates extradition procedures.
The rejection clears the way for transferring the younger son of former president Ricardo Martinelli to face trial on money laundering charges in the United States.
The decision was adopted on July 19, and it states that Martinelli Linares did not carry out a technical legal analysis that supports the defect of unconstitutionality that he alleges in his claim.
"In the specific case, the constitutionality of its material content is not objected, with clear and adequate reasoning, since the argumentation is carried out without making a parification between the constitutional norms denounced as violated and the objective norm," says the Court's ruling.
The agency also ordered the Fifth Court of Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking, and Crimes against the Environment to suspend the unconstitutionality process and avoid unnecessary procedures "in the interests of the principle of procedural economy."
Martinelli Linares has successively lost the appeals he has presented to prevent his delivery to the United States, where he is sued (with his brother Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares) for various crimes related to money laundering. The two have been detained in Guatemala since July 6, 2020.
Last week it was learned that the First Chamber of the Court of Appeals rejected the appeals filed by the lawyers of Martinelli Linares and confirmed the decision of the Fifth Court judges, who last May had ordered his surrender to face various charges linked to money laundering, in a New York court.
"In the case at hand, both the objective and subjective requirements are met so that the extradition of the requested Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares is declared appropriate, by virtue of the fact that the crime for which the government of the United States requests his extradition is of the common order, it is punishable according to the laws of both States, it has a penalty of more than one year and there is a treaty in force between Guatemala and the United States, ”says the Order of June 21, 2021, of the First Chamber of the Court of Appeals.
Martinelli Linares will eventually have to be placed under the orders of the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry, an entity that will proceed to issue a “governmental agreement” that will finally authorize his departure from the country.
“Right now, the extradition resolution is being sent to the Secretary of the Supreme Court. They send it to the Foreign Ministry, then he goes to the embassy, then to the United States and the extradition is already scheduled there, "said Rony Ríos, a journalist for El Periodico de Guatemala.
The extradition of Ricardo Alberto is going at a slower pace and is decided by another court, the Third Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking, and Crimes against the Environment.
The two sons of former President Ricardo are requested in extradition to answer for an accusation filed in the Eastern District Court of New York, on three charges: one for allegedly conspiring to launder money, and two more, for hiding information about him. money laundering.
Luis Enrique faces two additional charges for the alleged use of money obtained through money laundering.
The two brothers remain in the Mariscal Zavala military prison, where an operation was carried out two months ago after an escape plan was alerted. Currently, visits to the prison are prohibited, since last August 14, due to the increase in Covid-19 cases.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/son-of-ex-president-martinelli-loses-final-extradition-appeal-1
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Gangland “most wanted” freed by mistake
Posted 01/09/2021The release of José Cossio the leader of the notorious Calor Calor gang from Punta Coco maximum security prison by a substitute judge, who did not follow the procedural rules.
This is concluded by a resolution issued by the Second Superior Court on May 10, 2021, which revoked the decision.
The resolution - to which La Prensa had access - specifies: “it is evident that the action of the liquidating judge Gerardo Ríos (in his capacity as a substitute) is not covered by the procedural norms, since the court responded to a request in contravention of the provisions of article 509 of the Penal Code ”.
The norm stipulates that the compliance judge is the competent authority to decide on the control of the execution of the sentence and that requests that imply a decision of this nature must be resolved during a hearing, in which the prosecutor must be present. of the case, the defense, and the compliance judge.
The court's resolution expresses its "concern" over the decision taken by Ríos, which allowed Cossio's freedom on September 14, 2020, until last Saturday, when he was detained at a police checkpoint in Costa del Este.
To order Cossio's release, Ríos considered that he had already served the 74-month prison sentence imposed on him for drug-related crimes.
In addition to the fact that Ríos was not competent to grant the detainee's freedom, it did not take into account that he had escaped from the La Joya Penitentiary Center on September 30, 2014, and that he was recaptured in Costa Rica and transferred to Panama on May 2, 2014. 2015, for which the sentence had been interrupted, the court noted.
"Thus, this court, administering justice, declares the nullity of the release of freedom
Sources linked to the process said that it was the Public Ministry that noticed the irregularities in the release of the detainee, which led to a review of the actions of the substitute judge Ríos.
Cossio was sentenced to 74 months in prison for the offense of aggravated possession of drugs and then a sanction of 38 additional months was applied to him for escaping the La Joya Penitentiary Center.
On Monday afternoon, under strong security measures, Cossio was escorted to the Albrook Airport to be transferred by plane of the National Aeronaval Service (Senan) to the Punta Coco prison.
Crime sheet
Cossio is considered the leader of the Calor Calor gang, the link to an assault in 2005 at the Bank of China branch in Colón, in which the $2.5 million was stolen.In 2007 an investigation was opened for his alleged connection to a homicide. Later, in 2010, he was convicted in the United States of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
In 2013, he was investigated link to the murder of the model Mily Jeans, whose body was found on Centenario road.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/gangland-most-wanted-freed-by-mistake
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The Horror of public service
Posted 31/08/2021
Public service in Panama was once an honor. Today, it is a horror. Conflict of interest is one of the most reprehensible behaviors of an official, but now it is one of the most common things among public servants who deliberately ignore elementary ethical principles in the exercise of their functions. These behaviors, in some cases, have criminal consequences, but justice in Panama is as or more absent than transparency.
Despite the fact that unethical behaviors say much more about the moral stature of officials, they often suffer contempt from them, since they consider it more urgent to face the criminal trial than the moral one when the second should be enough to disqualify them from public service.
However, given that society lives in an environment in which these behaviors are common, permissiveness has become customary and conflict of interest is now a part of everyday life that few question anymore. This is how, after decades of living like this, they have made us indifferent to nepotism, influence peddling, or those negotiated with the State. Either we wake up from this nightmare or we will end the failure of our democracy. LA PRENSA, Aug. 31
https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/the-horror-of-public-service
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Life in the Panama Paradise
Posted 31/08/2021
A man shot to death last Saturday in a Multiplaza parking lot, was on the payroll of San Miguelito municipality. He had a salary of $600 and worked as a community promoter.
Although he did not respond to La Prensa , Mayor Valdés Carrasquilla issued a statement yesterday on Monday, without mentioning names or specific events, he justified the hiring of Castro. “As a municipality we have a commitment to eradicate the problems that generate conflict situations in our communities, so we will continue to play our role as promoters, mediators, and facilitators of young people, and women who are at social risk in our district, regardless of their social strata because now, with the new accusatory criminal system, they are offered the opportunity to reintegrate into society”, he explained.
Valdés Carrasquilla, currently a member of the Democratic Change party.
The links
According to the authorities, Castro was a drug lord from Nuevo Veranillo, San Miguelito, and had ties to the Los Chacales gang, a group accused of the murder of two activists from the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD): Wendy Rodríguez, who was shot dead in the south corridor in August 2020; and Diógenes Yoyi Vergara, a former deputy, who was assassinated in February of this year in Pacora.
After Castro's murder, an image circulated on social networks showing the PRD Raúl Pineda, a deputy from San Miguelito, lamenting the incident.
The case is in the hands of the Homicide and Femicide section of the Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office of the Public Ministry, and until the end of this edition there were no reports of arrests.
Tulip's death occurred just three days after the murder on Calle 70 San Francisco, of Alexander García Vergara, who resided in San Miguelito and had recently been released from La Joya prison.
These events, and the capture last Saturday of José Cossio, leader of the Calor Calor gang, put the national security strategy against the wall.
However, the director of the National Police, John Dorheim, minimized the events and, on the contrary, said on the live radio program Panama : “we live in a paradise. They are isolated acts of criminals. (...) We are developing actions against these groups and we want to tell them that this is a safe country ”.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/life-in-the-panama-paradise
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New Minera negotiations
Posted 31/08/2021
President Laurentino Cortizo revealed that the negotiation with Minera Panama begins on September 1; the contract allows the Canadian company to carry out open-pit mineral extraction in the district of Donoso, Colon.
"The process is to reach an entirely new contract, which establishes the terms of its presence in the country and the conditions for the exploitation of the copper mine," said Cortizo.
This process was formally opened after the Government recognized that the current relationship with the company is not the most beneficial for the country, due to the royalties it receives for the exploitation of the mine.
Cortizo said that "it is a comprehensive negotiation, which includes environmental, labor, fiscal and economic aspects and social development for Panama, especially Colón, the communities of the districts of Donoso, Omar Torrijos, and their entire area. of influence”.
The president assured that in the negotiation the interests of the country will prevail, taking advantage of natural resources. "This means that the country has to receive substantial, fair income from the extraction of its natural resources and that this extraction is carried out with the best practices," he said.
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Spain investigates Martinelli Odebrecht links in apartment buy
Posted 31/08/2021
The Judicial Police of Spain has put the magnifying glass on 6 million euros deposited in bank accounts in that country by the family of former President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, which is suspected of being part of the bribes that Odebrecht paid in Panama, in exchange for infrastructure public contracts.
Of that amount, 4 million euros were used to buy a "luxury" apartment in the exclusive neighborhood of Los Jerónimos, in Madrid. , acquired in 2014 by Ricardo "Rica" Martinelli Linares -son of the ex-president-, to through a company called Iberian Real Estate Development.
The 393-square-meter apartment has been seized since April 2017 by the Spanish authorities, in response to a request from the Special Anti - Corruption Prosecutor of the Public Ministry of Panama. The apprehension request was sent to the Kingdom of Spain on March 7, 2017, and answered on April 24, 2017.
The latest reports from the Judicial Police of Spain were released this Tuesday, August 31, 2021, in a note from the digital medium Vozpópuli. The police agents -according to this journalistic note- advise the National Court of Spain to request assistance from the Panamanian authorities, to clarify the origin of the 6 million euros used by the family of the ex-governor, although they consider it "plausible" that these amounts come from of Odebrecht's “bites”, channeled through the lawyer Mauricio Cort, who in Spain has been widely identified as a frontman for the Martinellis.
According to the Vozpópuli note, the "suspicious" origin of $4.3 million used by Rica Martinelli through the development company Iberian Real Estate, deposited in a Madrid branch of Novo Banco, motivated the Portuguese bank to send an alert, in July of 2016, to the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses (Sepblac), the supervisory authority for the prevention of money laundering in Spain.
The Police also alert about accounts opened in the name of Escania Financial Corp., another company associated with the Martinelli, which recorded revenues of $1.4 million, between 2009 and 2014, allegedly from the sale of a store in a shopping center in Panama. That information was told at the time by Evelyn Vargas Reynaga, lawyer for Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, and would correspond to the sale of an establishment in the Los Andes shopping center. Vargas Reynaga declared having traveled to Madrid on several occasions, to sign the deeds and close the sale of the apartment in Los Jerónimos, following the instructions of Rica Martinelli.
Martinelli, his two sons, and Vargas Reynaga are on the list of 49 people for whom the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is requesting a trial for alleged money laundering.
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/spain-investigates-martinelli-odebrecht-links-in-apartment-buy-1
Fuel (Gasoline and Diesel) Prices and Consumption Levels [Ongoing]
in Automobiles / Vehicles (Dealers, Titles, Vehicle & Driver Licenses, Maintenance, Fuel, Roadway Carnage, etc.)
Posted
https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/gas-prices-on-the-rise