Bud
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Posts posted by Bud
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Wow, Keith. I fell asleep before I got to the end of your response. Please try to be a bit less wordy in your future postings!
[I just couldn't resist this. tee hee.]
I really do like short, concise answers.
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Military person can run Panama cops
Posted on August 28, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 167PANAMA’S police force is open to being governed by a military person according to a Supreme Court judgement.
The decision notes a “lack of prohibition” in the law regulating the national police,
The court rejected a claim of unconstitutionality filed by attorney Carlos Bolivar Pedreschi against article 41 of the 1997 law that regulates the appointment of police directors.
That law allowed persons with a military background to be appointed to the position.
Bolivar Pedreschi had argued that the law violates the provision that Panama can’t establish an army.
There has been pervious criticism of police on duty dressed like combat troops.
But the t argument was rejected by Judge Harry Díaz, who heard the case.
Díaz ruled that appointing a person with a military background was not equivalent to establishing an army.
He also said that the court could not expand the interpretation of the law, since the constitution did not specifically prohibit those individuals from serving. reports La Prensa
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/military-person-can-run-panama-cops
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Highlighted emphasis below is of my doing. Wow. Ten years in the making. And I still see no pruning of the brush and trees around the power lines.
QuoteForest fire earns $750,000 fine
Posted on August 28, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 108A FOREST FIRE that caused a national blackout 10 years ago has led to an $750,000 fine for an electrical distribution company.
The Public Services Authority levied the fine on Edemet for violations that caused the fire in 2006.
The fines were levied due to a lack of pruning of trees around wires and a failure to maintain areas where the company has easements.
The agency ruled that this lack of maintenance caused a national blackout on March 4, 2006, which was caused by a forest fire that began near the substation in Cáceres, Arraijan.
The company has sought to overturn the authority’s decision on several occasions, presenting several legal remedies before the Supreme Court.
But those remedies have now been exhausted reports La Prensa.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/forest-fire-earns-750000-fine
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12 minutes ago, Penny said:
I think when many Panamanians voted for Martinelli they thought he was so rich that he wouldn't need to steal from the treasury (as has been the custom). Guess that's not a viable theory.
It follows then that lesson from the Martinelli administration is that the more one has then the more one wants.
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Innovation boss confesses to bribes in brown envelopes
Posted on August 27, 2016 in Panama
Eduardo JaenPost Views: 101PANAMA’S FORMER director of Government Innovation Director, Eduardo Jaén, has confessed to accepting a $120,000 bribe delivered in csh in bown envelopes
He old told prosecutors that he received the payment from the German multinational SAP, which was awarded a $14.5 million contract to install software for the Social Security System (CSS)
Jaen, who has been in detention since April, said that the now deceased businessman Carlos Bissot proposed the payment so that the deal would receive a favorable recommendation from his agency, a requirement for the purchase of software above $50,000.
In his statement, Jaén said that Bissot offered to make the cash payments in two parts, and it was delivered in manila envelopes in August and September 2010.
There are 14 others charged in the case, including former Social Security Director Guillermo Sáez Llorens.
Aaron Ronny Mizrachi, brother-in-law of former President Ricardo Martinell is also wanted on charges related to the case.
He fed the country on Martinelli’s private jet, and prosecutors have issued an Interpol red alert for his capture
The regional SAP director at the time was convicted and jailed in the US. During his trial he implicated Martinelli in the arrangement.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/innovation-boss-confesses-bribes-brown-envelopes
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Opposition to Barro Blanco continues
Posted on August 27, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 78CONTINUING road closures and confrontations with police units between in Gualaquita in Bocas Del Toro have led President Juan Carlos Varela to call for dialogue with indigenous people opposed to the agreement allowing the completion of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project.
Varela, who was stoned on the day the agreement was signed said that dialogue is the way to address problems.
He added that there is generally peace in the country that is due to his government’s willingness to address problems through dialogue.
The government reached a deal with indigenous leaders this week that will allow the completion of the project in exchange for concessions, such as providing a percentage of the income from the sale of power from the project to indigenous communities.
But some residents remain adamantly opposed to the project and have vowed to continue fighting it.
A statement signed by committee president Rogelio Montezuma, said the national government is responsible for all police repression that violates individual or collective rights of protesters against the agreement.
Seven police officers and over a dozen protesters have been injuredThe statement: that the demonstrators will continue to defend their natural resources
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/opposition-barro-blanco-continues
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Martinelli paid top dollar in bribe deal
Posted on August 27, 2016 in Panama
Kenia Porcell seeks artinelli contractsPost Views: 116AS IN MANY contracts during the Martinelli administration, Panama got the short end of the stick with grossly inflated prices in a contract with an Argentine company.
The country paid as much as seven time the going price paid by other countries for digital mapping equipment.
The company Telespazio Argentina, is being investigated in that country for the alleged payment of bribes to Panamanian officials including former President Ricardo Martinelli.
According to research carried out in Argentina by Federal Prosecutor Franco Picardi, Telespazio delivered similar equipment to Costa Rica for $4.7 million and Paraguay for $3 million that it sold to Panama for $22 million.
The equipment is a digital mapping system that was part of a larger, $250 million deal that Panama signed with Finmeccanica, the parent company of Telespazio.
Bribery charges
Two Telespazio directors, Edgardo Nicolas De Gracia and Dario César Ventimiglia, have already been charged with paying bribes. They have been accused of funneling payments to the shell company Agafea Corp., which was created a short time before the contract was finalized.
According to the Argentine prosecutor, the payments were made through intermediaries.
Panama, Attorney General Kenia Porcell has been sent an Argentina request for judicial assistance.,
Her office is already compiling information about the contract.http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/martinelli-paid-top-dollar-bribe-deal
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This posting is not about an incident in the Chiriqui Province, but there are implications for all provinces in Panama, including Chiriqui. In other words, I am taking a small liberty with regard to the CL rules about posting in this section of CL forums.
Quote6 convicted in massive turtle egg theft
Posted on August 27, 2016 in Panama
Thousands of eggs in latest seizurePost Views: 100SIX PEOPLE have been convicted this month for trafficking hundreds of thousands of turtle eggs.
Hawksbill Turtle
Alexis Perez, regional chief of protected areas and wildlife of the Environment Ministry in Los Santos, confirmed on Saturday, August 27 the latest seizure of 1,314 eggs in the Tonosí,Valley sector.
Analysis by biologists from the institution showed that 687 embryos had to be destroyed. Meanwhile 381 eggs were reseeded in a nursery located on the beaches of Cambutal. It is the third case of seizure of turtle eggs in less than 15 days in the province of Los Santos.The first two were 7,368 and 314,000 respectively.
In the two cases six traffickers criminally were convicted and ordered to pay to $3,600. They will also face a process with the Ministry of Environment for administrative offenses.
Citizens of San Miguelito were sentenced to 37 months in prison converted to 200 days’ fine, at $ 3 a day for the illegal transfer of 7,360 turtle eggs.
Others were given 40 months in prison, or fined $3 a day for 600 days .Between the months of August to December the largest species of nesting is the mulatta turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). Second is the black turtle (Chelonia agassizii).
Other species such as the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), come to nest two to three times a year.http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/6-convicted-massive-turtle-egg-theft
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Panama: More Incentives for Solar Energy
Companies that build or operate solar plants will enjoy exemptions from import duties, tariffs, taxes and various levies.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
From a decree by the National Assembly published in the Official Newspaper of Panama:
Article 1. Clause 1 of Article 20 of Law 37 of 2013 reads as follows :
Article 20. Natural or legal persons who build, operate or maintain plants and / or solar installations will enjoy the following incentives:
1. Exemption from import taxes, tariffs, duties, levies and charges, as well as transfer tax on movable goods and provision of services, that may arise by reason of imports and / or purchases in the domestic market of equipment, machines, materials, spare parts and other goods necessary for the construction, operation and maintenance of the plants and / or solar installations.
This provision also applies to the electricity stations and / or solar installations at the time of the entry into force of this Act, which are under construction, which will have a term of six months from the effective date to request recognition from the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the exemption.
Read full decree (in spanish).http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/home/Panama_More_Incentives_for_Solar_Energy
Here is the official government Gaceta (gazette) article (in Spanish) [note: this is a large file at 22.3BM]:
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Panama Launches Reforestation Program To Compensate For Canal Expansion
PANAMA CITY, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The administration of the Panama Canal (ACP) announced on Friday that it has begun a reforestation program covering 83 hectares in the province of Darien to compensate for the recent expansion of the Canal.
China's Xinhua news agency reports that the reforestation is part of a campaign that will re-forest 1,243 hectares nationwide at a cost of US$3 million, the ACP said in a statement.
A total of 937 hectares of land have already been reforested.
"We are very proud of the benefits that the canal expansion has brought to this part of the country, especially as this is the first restoration project by the Canal in Darien," said Ilya Espino de Marotta, the ACP's executive vice-president.
Hermel Lopez, regional director for the Ministry of the Environment, said the project is highly important for the province, given the reduction in its forest cover.
The ACP reforestation program includes planting coffee and cacao trees as well as native species, such as the cocobolo.
The ACP has committed itself to planting two hectares of trees for each hectare which was affected by the canal expansion works.
The initiative will take place over one year of active planting and four more years of maintenance, carried out by local contractors.
According to Panama's National Association for the Conservation of Nature, Panama has lost 65 per cent of its original forest cover due to a deforestation rate of around 20,000 hectares a year.http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/wn/newsworld.php?id=1274990
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Nikal Waked’s extradtion approved
Posted on August 26, 2016 in Panama
Nidal Waked fcess long US jail term if found guityPost Views: 142COLOMBIA’S Supreme Court of Justice of has endorsed the extradition to the United States of Panamanian businessman Nidal Waked
The decision was announced on Friday August 26 reported La W Radio.
In the US, Waked, who had requested a fast – extradition ,will face the Southern District of Florida Court , which investigates money laundering and bank fraud. The Florida prosecutor is calling for a 50 year jail term.
Waked was arrested in Bogota, Colombia, on May 4 . The next day, the United States Department of the Treasury, through its Bureau of Foreign Assets (OFAC), announced the inclusion of Nidal Waked, his uncle Abdul Waked and 68 corporations in the Clinton List of money laundering activities and drug trafficking. Brothers of Nidal and the son of Abdul were also included in the list.
Thw United States prohibits its citizens and companies from trade and financial relations with the entities and persons listed.
The effect in Panama has led to the Waked family operations like Soho Mall and Felix B Maduro being put in trust pending sale, and the devastation of its La Riviera chain.
The Waked owned Balboa Bank is in the hands of the banking superintendent pending sale.
The US investigation of the family has extended over 10 years. No Panama charges have been announced.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/nikal-wakeds-extradtion-approved
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Protestors and police hurt in clashes
Posted on August 26, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 159SEVEN POLICE officers and at least a dozen indigenous protestors were injured in a confrontation in Gualaquita, Bocas del Toro, on Thursday night August 26.
A La Prensa cartoonist’s take on the reception of the agreement
The clash occured during demonstrations following the signing of an agreement between the government and leaders of the indigenous peoples over the Barro Blanco Hydroelectric project.
It came after government leaders were basking in the wake of UN officials praise for an “historic” agreement.
The indigenous protestors were injured by rubber billets accoding to social media reports.
Their leader Carrizo Ofelia said they suffered chest and eye injuries.
He called for the presence of the Ombudsman for the wounded to be taken to hospitals, as they have not received medical care because they are afraid of being arrested by the police in hospitals.
Meanwhile, three of officers were taken by plane to Panama for medical attention said National Police chief, Omar Pinzon.
“We did not use weapons or buckshot. The police were injured by stones. Although we have not seen wounded indigenous people but jounalists have reported that there are.
“However they have not gone to hospitals to be treated” Pinzon said atMarcos A. Gelabert Airport, where he went to receive the injured officers.
Five indigenous protestors have been arrested.
Bocas del Toro National Police director Sisinio Nunez said that the police intervention was due to intermittent blockage of roads that would hamper trade and patient care in hospitals.
He said police had seized machetes, molotov cocktails and blunt weapons.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/protestors-police-hurt-clashes
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Argetina asks help in Martinelli bribery probe
Posted on August 26, 2016 in Panama
Martinelli off the hook in abuse of power casePost Views: 60AN ARGENTINA federal prosecutor in Argentina, has filed a request for judicial assistance with the Public Ministry as part of the investigation into alleged bribes paid by Telespazio Argentina, S.A. to Panam officials in Panama, including ex-President Ricardo Martinelli
Telespazio and the Ministry of Public Works signed a contract in 2010 for 15.7 million euros for the installation, maintenance and financing of a digital mapping system.
In his request, prosecutor Franco Picardi, asked Panama to provide a certified copy of the agreement, the names of people who worked in the ministry from 2010 to 2014 and whether any of them traveled to Argentina in that period.
He also asked Panama to confirm whether or not Telespazio officials Edgardo Nicolas De Gracia or Dario César Ventimiglia traveled to Panama during that period, as well as seven other company officials. Nicolas De Gracia and Ventimiglia have already been charged with paying bribes in exchange for the contract.
The Telespazio deal was part of a larger, $250 million defense contract that Panama signed with the Italian consortium Finmeccanica. In addition to the mapping system, the deal also included the purchase of helicopters and a radar system.
That deal has resulted in allegations that Panama officials were paid a $25 million bribe, and it has prompted criminal investigations in Italy and Panama, as well as the one in Argentina.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/argetina-asks-help-martinelli-bribery-probe
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Court OK’s aid to Swiss in Martinelli investigation
Posted on August 26, 2016 in Panama
Martinelli and sons under Swiss microscopePost Views: 110ARGENTINA, BRAZIL and Switzerland are all knocking on Panama’s door asking for assistance in corruption inquiries with links to ex president Ricardo Martinelli.
Now the Supreme Court has admitted one of the two judicial assistance requests filed by federal prosecutors from Switzerland for information about Martinelli’s possible link to the alleged payment of bribes by Norberto Odebrecht, S.A., known in Brazil as the Lava Jato case.
The second request was not admitted due to errors it contained. It has been sent back to Switzerland so that theerrors can be corrected.
The request was referred to the court by Attorney General Kenia Porcell in May. That was because cases involving Martinelli have to be handled by that entity due to his membership in the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).
Judge Ángela Russo was appointed to handle the case and must now send the requested information to the judicial authorities of Switzerland.
The attorney general’s office will also send tinformation that was requested on Martinelli’s sons, Ricardo Martinelli Linares and Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, who were also part of the judicial request. Both sons and their father have fled the country,
Switzerland requested information about accounts linked to the companies Constructora Internacional del Sur, S.A., Select Engineering and Active Capital Holdings.
Swiss authorities say that these companies were controlled by former Odebrecht Director Fernando Migliaccio da Silva, who has been detained in Switzerland since February.
Those companies were allegedly used to pay the bribes, including ones to Martinelli and his family.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/court-oks-help-swiss-martinelli-investigation
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I am again puzzled at the lack of advance information about events here in Boquete. I wake up this morning to read that President Varela was in town yesterday to review progress on the school renovation and the water works infrastructure, as well as to look at the site for a replacement Panamonte Bridge. Obviously this trip had to be planned and resources put in place for such a visit by the president. But how is it that someone (me) who is running a website to share information about life here in this area can be so ignorant of this kind of visit? This is not the first time such events have happened without advance word.
My only conclusion is that there remains a huge divide between the two predominate cultures that inhabit Boquete, referring to the Panamanians (which includes the indigenous) and the expatriates (predominantly from Western countries). I am not sure if it is a cultural divide or a communications divide, but divided we are, imo.
Where and what is the source of the advance information about the president's visit? Is it by radio, newspaper, bochinche, letter, telephone, email, or xyz? Are we just not connected to that (or those) information resource(s)? I would assume the language of the advance information is exclusively in Spanish, but my Spanglish is good enough to understand the big picture.
Going a bit further, we are hearing of a growing dislike for "foreigners" coming into or related to those who already live/work here in Panama. Venezuelans are high on the list of the "disliked", but our understanding is that the "disliked" also include the Americans, Canadians, and Europeans who come here and criticize the Panamanians. Note that I am NOT saying that all Panamanians dislike all foreigners, but the trend is increasing and going in the wrong direction.
Does anyone have a different explanation? Other thoughts on our cultural/communications divide?
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17 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:
... I leave the house in Alto at 7:00 a.m. and arrive there in Albrook at 9:00 a.m. or very shortly thereafter for about $60....
Keith, my experience with flying to PC was that it is much more expensive than what you stated. But then I gave up flying Air Panama some time back. In reading your posting about the ~$60 one-way airfare, that piqued my interest to check out Air Panama rates. You are correct about the cost of the fares, which now has added another option to my list of modes for travel to PC. May be adding Air Panama back on the okay list.
Thanks for this information.
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Marcelyn and I prefer to drive when we go to PC. We do NOT drive once we arrive in PC (traffic there drives me crazy), other than the final run to Riba Smith to stock up on supplies. It is cheaper to drive when compared to two people flying. I can drive (Toyota Fortuner, diesel) for about $30.00 of fuel each way. A bit more than half a tank of fuel for the drive.
The distance is just a bit short of 500 KM (call it 300 miles in English units). We plan on 7 hours total travel time, including a stop in Santiago. That duration can be shorter now that the improvements in the Interamerican Highway are progressing quite well. The worst part of the drive is the 50 KM just west of Santiago. Santiago is about (not exactly, but close enough for our purposes) halfway in the trip. It actually is a bit closer to Chiriqui than to PC.
We do not know when the improvements will be completed. We also are not concerned about the speed limits being increased. We are very comfortable with the current situation, and so anything better than now is simply gravy for us. I just put it on cruise control (at the posted limit), and Marcelyn and I have wonderful conversations.
Beside the stop in Santiago for lunch, we generally stop at the McDonalds at the Coronado exit for a pit stop, and maybe a drink or snack.
We do not think of PC as being in close proximity to Boquete, but that is a personal thing.
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Hands of Stone gets critical cold douche
Posted on August 25, 2016 in Film, Panama
Post Views: 188HANDS OF STONE the locally hyped movie about Panama’s legendary boxing hero Roberto Duran has received a cold reception from critics.
It will be released on Friday August 26 in 2000 cinemas in the US. Canada and Panama, and was predicted to put the country on the tourist map.
The film, which includes Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez and Ruben Blades, is part of a group of limited release films.,it will not be in as many cinema complexes in North America as others like Suicide Squad (4225 venues ) and War Dogs (3,258)
Filmed mostly on the Isthmus with large bands of local extras, it was screened out of competition at the International Film Festival of Cannes but the critics reception at best has been luke warm.
According to the website rottentomatoes.com, which brings together film criticism, mainly published in America and England, it has 45% favorable reviewsOf 14 reviews, it got one A and one F.
Head Blow
Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian, called it “subtle as a blow to the head”. He considered it “a failure” if the intention of the Panama Film Commission Film Panama wanted to convert Hands of Stone in a vehicle to increase domestic tourism, because “the film manages to make Panama a dirty place that nobody wants to visit”.
The critic Steve Pond, on the website The Wrap, wrote that it was “a good party for actor Robert De Niro, but boxing routine ho hum… The results are not as fabulous as their promised elements.”
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter said that “if there was a virtual ring in which boxing movies fight , Hands of the Stone and Creed (2015, Ryan Coogler) will face one another as middleweights, Creed probably wins on points … but not by a large margin.
“So What?
Owen Gleiberman, Variety magazine said Hands of Stone “does the job, but it’s hard not to have the feeling of watching a topical boxing movie and fairly generic. It is fully competent, but makes the story of Roberto Duran seem a bit ‘so what? “.
Brian Truitt, USA Today, said it highlights the character of Robert De Niro (Ray Arcel coach) and has too many subplots; Usher Raymond (plays Sugar Ray Leonard) has a better performance on the big screen that Edgar Ramirez (Roberto Duran); Creed beats Hands of Stone, and the pace of the film only rises when the two legendary fights between Leonard and Duran are recorded.
Lindsey Bahr (AP news agency) said: “A good film suitable for teenagers and adults. However,the feeing l that we have seen it before is inevitable. ”
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/hands-stone-gets-critical-cold-douche
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Martinelli fingered in Argentina bribery scandal
Posted on August 25, 2016 in Latin America, Panama
Federico Suarez and Ricardo MartinelliPost Views: 193EX-PRESIDENT Ricardo Martinelli has been named in yet another coima (bribery) scandal, this time in Argentina , linked to the abortive helicopter purchase from Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica.
Argentina’s federal prosecuto Franco Picardi has accused two representatives of Telespazio Argentina, S.A. for the alleged payment of bribes to Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) for the installation, maintenance and financing of a digital cartographic map.
An Argentina Public Prosecutions (MPF) public bulletin says that the elements gathered by prosecutor Picardi presume “the existence of crimes that could be part of the crime of transnational bribery”.
The alleged payment occurred in 2010. That year, the Panamanian government signed contracts with three subsidiaries of Finmeccanica, one of which was for the purchase of a digital map to Telespazio Argentina reports La Prensa
According to the bulletin, prosecutor Picardi said that “it has been reported that the president of Panama Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal would receive economic benefits from the award of these contracts. Indeed, the signatories have given him money disguised as ‘commissions’, equivalent to 10% of the amount of the contract sums. ”
Such a “maneuver” would have involved the former Minister of Public Works Federico ‘Pepe’ Suarez.
The president of Telespazio Argentina, Edgardo Nicholas De Gracia, and the management of the firm Dario César Ventimiglia were charged by the Argentina prosecutor for the alleged payment of bribes to Ricardo Martinelli government officials for the contract to finance the digital cartographic map installation.
The contract, signed by Panama in 2010, provided for a payment of about 15.7 million euros.
According to research Picardi, Telespazio Argentina and De Graciaa were the subject of suspicious transaction reports totaling nearly $ 210,000.
De Gracia must explain the many trips he made to Panama between 2010 and 2015, “in addition to atypical costs of representation hotels, food, etc., through corporate credit cards”.
According to the prosecutor, the then president Martinelli would receive economic benefits from the award of these contracts and the “maneuver” also allegedly involved – De Gracia and former Minister of Public Works, Federico Suarez and Italian Valter Lavítola and Paolo Pozzessere, the de former director of Finmeccanica on trial in Italy.
Consulted on the information, former minister Suarez said that negotiations on the map was made by the former director of the Geographic Institute Tommy Guardia Israel Sánchez.
La Prensa tried to locate Sanchez, but it was not possible. The paper also called Martinelli, in Miami who , said “Ciao” and hung up.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/martinelli-fingered-argentina-bribery-scandal
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OPINION: Win-win hydro solution
Posted on August 25, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 195THE AGREEMENT between the Government and the Ngäbe Bugle indigenous leadership, around the hydroelectric project Barro Blanco, unlocks a Gordian knot that roiled the search for solutions to the urgent demand for energy that the current development of the country requires.
The socio-environmental conflict generated by this project seemed to be resolved and proide over time a just solution for all parties. The agreement, without being perfect, means of all sectors of the country can benefit.
It also represents development guarantees to the most neglected regions of the country, such as indigenous areas, which will benefit, and be included in the project.
With a growing demand for energy, resulting from population growth and new public and private infrastructure in the country, Panama needs clarity for the efficient and sustainable use of its resources, which result in tangible benefits for the entire population.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/opinion-win-win-hydro-solution
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UN lauds Barro Blanco agreement
Posted on August 25, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 110THE AGREEMENT reached between the Panama government and indigenous leaders on the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project has received accolades from the United Nations.
“The agreement is historical not only for Panama, but also for the international community,” said UN officials based in Panama.
“It is an example of how states should make indigenous peoples partners in decision-making processes on projects that affect their lives, their cultures, their territories and their rights.”
The agreement calls for the company Generadora del Istmo, S.A. (Genisa) to be removed from the hydroelectric project and for it to be operated by an independent third party.
It also cancels proposed projects along the Tabasará River, and makes them subject to a referendum.
The agreement also creates a fund for projects within the community that will derive its income from the sale of power from the project.
In addition 50 percent of the jobs created by the project will be granted to indigenous residents.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/un-lauds-barro-blanco-agreement
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Sounds to me like this is going to be a "he said she said, she said he said" conundrum.
At least the dog is being taken care of now.
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$2.5 million enrichment suspect exits jail
Posted on August 24, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 94FORMER LABOR Minister Alma Cortés, under investigation for the alleged unjust enrichment, was released from prison on of Wednesday, August 24, after depositing bail of $ 300,000, set by the Second Court.
Out of custody of the National Police and surrounded by CD party members she returned to the CD “political persecution”mantra mouthed when any member of the former administration is investigated for corruption.
“I am a woman who has not committed a crime in my life and I’ll prove my innocence” she said.
Before her release, members of Democratic Change were in front of the headquarters of the National Police, on the Omar Torrijos Avenue, and had an altercation with officers of the National Police.
Leading the protesters was Luis Eduardo Camacho, spin doctor for Martinelli, who described the event as “repression”.
During the Martinelli administration numerous demonstrators were killed and wounded by riot police.
The sixth Anticorruption Prosecutor investigates the Cortes for the alleged crime of unjust enrichment, after an audit by the Comptroller General determined that her income could not justify $2.5 million in her bank accounts.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/2-5-million-enrichment-suspect-exits-jail
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Panama crime rates falling
Posted on August 24, 2016 in Panama
Gang murder scenePost Views: 120CRIME RATES in Panama have been on a downward path for the last two years according to Minister of Security Alexis Bethancourt.
At the start of a crime conference In Panama Bethancourt said that in 2009 there were 818 murders, while in 2014 that number fell to 631. In 2015 there were 493 homicides, and 263 so far this year.
“We estimate that this year will end with between 9 and 10 victims per 100,000 residents,” he said at the beginning of a crime conference taking place in Panama.
He added that drug seizures have increased. In 2015 authorities seized 58 tons of drugs, and so far this year more than 40 tons have been seized.
Seized drugs
The InSight Crime Foundation reports that Panama and Guatemala have seen a sizeable increase in drug seizures through the first half of 2016, an indication of Central America’s persistent importance as a trafficking route to the United States despite past predictions of an impending shift towards the Caribbean.
The minister said that to further lower crime rates the country’s security agencies need to focus on fighting organized crime
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-crime-rates-falling
Military person can run Panama cops
in Miscellaneous Topics re Panama
Posted
Keith,
Your comment focuses on the reason this topic was added this morning. I have talked to too many old timers who are very reluctant to see any kind of militarization rekindle itself in Panama. "Old timers" in this context refers to Panamanians for the most part. They want nothing more to do with Noriega or his ilk.