Friday
Friday 10th January 2024.
January 9, 2025
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has joined calls for the prompt release of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado , who was violently detained Thursday at the end of a demonstration.
“Panama demands and requires the full freedom of María Corina, as well as respect for her personal integrity. The dictatorial regime is responsible for her life,” Mulino wrote on his account on the social network X.
Machado’s party denounced that its leader was “violently intercepted” after leaving the protest she called on Thursday to claim the victory of the anti-Chavez candidate Edmundo González Urrutia in the presidential elections.
The opposition leader reappeared in Caracas on Thursday, surrounded by hundreds of supporters, after remaining in hiding since August 28.
This Wednesday, González Urrutia was in Panama as part of his international tour to seek support after announcing that he will assume the presidency on January 10. During his visit to the country, it was reported that Panama will guard the minutes of the elections held in July 2024.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro lashed out on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, against his Panamanian counterpart, José Raúl Mulino , with controversial statements.
Maduro said he wishes the president of Panama “had the balls” to defend the Panama Canal with the same intensity with which, according to him, he attacks Venezuela.
“You are a coward, President of Panama, and you will also get what you deserve. Anyone who messes with Venezuela will dry up. You will dry up, you will dry up. I cannot tell you your name because I don’t even know your name,” Maduro said during a televised speech.
Maduro continued: “I wish you would come out to defend the Panama Canal and the dignity that Omar Torrijos left for Panama. I wish. I raise a prayer for Omar Torrijos, so that the people of Omar Torrijos, founded by Bolívar, who liberated Panama, reach their hour of vindication sooner rather than later. So it will be.” These statements were made hours after Mulino received Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia at the Palacio de las Garzas , who presented copies of the minutes proving his victory in the presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela. These remarks also arise in the context of recent insinuations by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, about his intention for that country to regain control of the Panama Canal. “We must clearly state to you, Mr. Edmundo, that Panama is with you and with the legitimacy that you represent,” said Mulino during the meeting. “You can count on our political and moral support. I hope that this journey will be a wake-up call to the democratic world, a wake-up call for the freedom of Venezuela,” added the Panamanian president.
Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha responded to Republican Dustin M. Johnson , who is pushing a bill to authorize President-elect Donald Trump to buy the Panama Canal and put it under U.S. control.
“For Panamanians, the Panama Canal is incomparable,” said Martínez Acha on January 9, who stressed that for the country the interoceanic route “is the religion that unites us.”
“It is an asset of the Panamanians that successfully serves the entire international community, especially the United States,” he added.
According to Martínez Acha, the port that benefits most from the Canal is the port of Houston. “The Canal is an asset of ours, at the service of the international community, without any privileges for anyone,” he said.
According to The Hill , Johnson plans to introduce the proposal, dubbed the “Panama Canal Buyback Act.”
In recent weeks, Trump, who will assume his second presidential term on January 20, has expressed his discontent with the alleged high tolls and Chinese control over the Canal, arguments that have been repeatedly denied by the Panamanian government.
“President Trump is right to consider buying back the Panama Canal. China’s interest and presence in the Canal is cause for concern,” Johnson said in a statement. “The United States must project strength abroad – owning and operating the Panama Canal could be an important step toward a stronger America and a safer world.”
President José Raúl Mulino , who was present this Thursday at the events of the January 9, 1964 event , which motivated the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties so that the Canal, then controlled by the United States, would pass into Panamanian hands, also referred to the case.
“Thanks to what happened here in 1964, we have a Panamanian Canal, complete sovereignty at the national level, and it will remain that way. We will have to fight for it to keep it Panamanian, just like the Canal. No one can try to undermine that reality. The Canal is and will continue to be Panamanian,” he declared.
The mayor of Arraiján, Estefany Peñalba, led an intervention on Thursday, January 9, on the beach of Veracruz to remove illegal structures built in the easement zone.
During her tour, Peñalba highlighted that these buildings, located dangerously close to the beach, not only lack construction and occupation permits, but also represent a risk for residents and tourists.
“We are removing all the infrastructure that is here, returning this space to the community,” said the mayor in front of the structures marked for demolition.
Among the constructions marked, there are restaurants with blue roofs and buildings of up to three floors that operate without any legal authorization.
“None of this has a construction or occupation permit, and they are not the owners of this place,” stressed Peñalba, making it clear that the municipal administration will not allow the improper use of public spaces.
These actions are part of an effort to put order in the area and ensure that spaces belonging to the community are respected and used legally.
The intervention of the mayor’s office also included a call to the inhabitants of Veracruz to reclaim the beach as a community space. “This space belongs to the people of Veracruz. We are going to return power to the community and stop these illegal practices,” said Peñalba.
On January 4 alone, Peñalba and his team removed signs installed by some businesses that restricted parking in the area. An image of a sign circulated on social media indicating that the parking lots were exclusive to a commercial establishment and that up to 5 dollars were charged for their use on the Veracruz beach. This fact generated discontent among the inhabitants and motivated the action of the Mayor’s Office.
“We will not allow them to take away our public spaces. The Veracruz beach is for everyone. Please, I ask you to help us report the abuses and arbitrariness of some, and we also ask you to help us keep it clean,” the mayor expressed on social media.
During the operation, officials removed the signs and cleared the spaces that were blocked with ropes, bricks and other obstacles. In addition, they visited several establishments that received notifications of fines.
A deputy commissioner of the Institutional Protection Service (SPI) was shot last night while he was traveling through the Burunga sector in the Arraiján district.
According to police reports, the person in question is Deputy Commissioner Keller Zapata of the SPI, who was shot in the head when his car was attacked by several individuals who fled the scene.
The incident occurred around 8:00 pm. The victim was heading to his residence when he was shot in the head. Residents in the area notified the police and emergency services who took him to the National Hospital where he remains in serious condition.
After the incident, National Police officers set up checkpoints in various sectors of Arraiján to find those responsible for the attack. Authorities are trying to establish whether the attack against Zapata was an attempt to steal his vehicle.
As of November 2024, statistics from the Ministry of Security reveal that in 2024 there were 105,323 thousand crimes, of which 4,786 correspond to cases of robbery, 17,333 of theft and 581 homicides, the latter mostly committed with firearms.
President José Raúl Mulino led the commemorative events of January 9, 1964 at the Ascanio Arosemena Training Center, home of the monument to the martyrs, the “ Eternal Flame . ”
The event lasted no more than an hour, and the president limited himself to placing a wreath, held by two agents of the Institutional Protection Service, in front of the monument. Mulino, who attended in a white shirt, remained silent while the protocol was carried out.
Nearby were his ministers and the administrator of the Panama Canal , Ricaurte Vásquez. Also present were members of the 9th of January Movement, as well as relatives of the martyrs.
Omar Jaén Suárez , historian and diplomat, was appointed as the event’s keynote speaker.
“Today I have to pay tribute to an achievement that marks the historical movement,” he said.
He recalled the students who fought for the country’s sovereignty “only with flags” against a “mob of soldiers” from the Canal Zone.
“Here, in this place, students from the National Institute ignited the spark of heroic events in the history of two countries, with the participation of thousands of Panamanians.
“These were events of great impact,” he said. Thirteen years later, he added, the Torrijos-Carter Treaties were signed, which guaranteed peace between two nations, tranquility on the American continent and the safety of international navigation.
The Taboga Municipal Council approved a modification to the tax system that directly impacts national and foreign tourists who enter the district by ferry boats.
Based on Municipal Agreement No. 25 of December 27, 2024 , a one-dollar entry fee was established for national and foreign tourists. Previously, this fee was fifty cents.
However, the agreement includes exemptions for children under 12 years of age, residents of Taboga and their relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, retirees and pensioners, diplomatic agents, and other persons on official missions or those whose purposes are not recreational.
This amount, classified as “environmental contribution or compensation,” aims to finance cleaning services, guides to historical sites on the island, as well as promote benefits in restaurants, hotels and services that the municipality can provide.
According to municipal authorities, these measures seek to ensure a fiscal balance between the district’s income and operating expenses, allowing for the sustainability of its activities and the fulfillment of its legal responsibilities.
They also claim that the measure is in response to the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and to deficiencies in past administrative management.