Friday
Friday 11th October 2024.
October 10, 2024
Supporters of the Democratic Change (CD) party marched on Thursday, October 10, at the headquarters of the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama, where former President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, has been seeking asylum for eight months.
Roberto Henríquez and Giselle Burillo, among others, have been seen at the scene. María del Sol Rivera, who is being investigated for money laundering in the Odebrecht case, was also present. In the investigations into this controversial case, Rivera is identified as Parakeet 3.
This Thursday, in the midst of journalistic coverage in this place, Martinelli harassed a journalist from La Prensa . This is the reporter Alexander Arosemena, who was covering the visit of politicians and close associates to the diplomatic headquarters located in La Alameda.
Former President Martinelli, on his social media account X, indicated that he was asking the judicial and police authorities to remove and prevent the presence of this “supposed terrorist who pretends to be a journalist.” The message is accompanied by a photo of Arosemena.
Martinelli also said that he asked his lawyers to file criminal complaints for intrusion and harassment while outside the Nicaraguan Embassy for unknown reasons.
It should be noted that Arosemena was not the only person who was on the premises of the diplomatic headquarters.
Martinelli arrived at the Nicaraguan diplomatic headquarters in Panama on February 7, 2024. The former ruler actively participates in Panamanian politics, in contradiction with what is established by the conventions that regulate the figure of asylum.
The 1928 Asylum Convention, one of those invoked by Daniel Ortega’s regime to grant protection to the former president, establishes in its fifth article that “while asylum lasts, asylum seekers will not be permitted to engage in acts contrary to public tranquility.”
Meanwhile, the 1954 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum reinforces this provision and adds: “the asylum-granting official shall not permit asylum-seekers to engage in acts contrary to public tranquility, nor to intervene in the internal politics of the territorial State.”
Sources informed this newspaper that Martinelli is considering leaving the Nicaraguan embassy for health reasons.
The former president of Panama (2009-2014) was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and the payment of $19.2 million for money laundering in the New Business case.
“I do not have the power to pardon sentences voluntarily or unilaterally. Only those who are in the system and have complied with the requirements of the penitentiary system can aspire to a request for a reduction in sentence.” This is part of the response given by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, when a journalist from this newspaper asked him about the possibility of reducing sentences for Giacomo Tamburelli and Guillermo Ferrufino , convicted of crimes linked to corruption.
In his weekly press conference on Thursdays, the president also responded that Ferrufino and Tamburelli “handed themselves in at the right time” and called this step “positive.” “Look, you can’t go around as a fugitive. That must be the greatest anguish in the world, for you and your family. And much less go through the stress of hiding, fleeing,” he said. Giacomo Tamburelli, former director of the former National Aid Program (PAN), was arrested on Friday, October 4 in the town of Ancón, as he was wanted for the crime of embezzlement, for which he has sentences of 48 and 96 months in prison.
The 48-month sentence imposed on Tamburelli is related to the irregular handling of funds for the purchase of dehydrated food, for an amount of $44 million, which were to be delivered to public schools throughout the country. While the 96-month prison sentence is related to the handling of funds for the implementation of infrastructure programs in the province of Herrera.
Guillermo Ferrufino , former Minister of Social Development, surrendered to the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) of the National Police, as he was wanted for crimes against public administration in the forms of embezzlement, corruption of public servants and unjustified enrichment, as confirmed by the National Police when reporting on his surrender at the DIJ offices in Ancón.
Mulino stated that Law 55 of June 30, 2002 (which reorganizes the penitentiary system) regulates “step by step” who can apply for this benefit and states on what basis a reduction in sentence is granted.
“This has nothing to do with cases. The person who qualifies, who has already served a good percentage of his sentence, who has studied while in prison, qualifies through his lawyers to make the request. In addition, the list is published in the media for three days so that whoever wants to can present an objection (…)”, added the governor.
“There is no life imprisonment here,” he said.
At the end of his term, Comptroller General Gerardo Solís made the key decision to implement a voluntary retirement program for public servants of the Comptroller General’s Office.
The measure, announced for 2024, offers civil servants the possibility of ending their employment relationship with the institution, in a process that promises specific economic benefits.
According to the document published in the Official Gazette this week, the retirement program will grant one week of salary for each year worked. It also establishes that, for the calculation of this special bonus, the last salary earned and the time worked in the service of the Comptroller’s Office in a fixed position, uninterruptedly, will be taken as a basis.
This temporary program also means that public servants who accept it will not be able to take up permanent or temporary positions in the Comptroller’s Office for a period of five years.
This issue took the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, by surprise, who stressed today in his usual press conference that he was not aware of the Comptroller’s program. “But does it have the capacity for that? And where is it going to get the money from? I have not seen it, honestly,” the president responded to the question.
He also sent a message to Solís: “Don’t worry, a discarded scam won’t result in a ticket.”
Mulino concluded by saying that the Comptroller’s initiative is not planned and does not have the necessary resources. “There are no resources for that, so let’s rule that out so as not to complicate things,” he added.
Independent MP for the Vamos coalition, Paulette Thomas , filed a criminal complaint on Thursday, October 10, against the former director of the Social Security Fund (CSS), Enrique Lau Cortés , for the expiration of medicines in the deposits of that security entity.
The criminal complaint seeks to have the Public Prosecutor’s Office determine the possible responsibility of the former director of the CSS for the shortage of medicines, when there were medicines in the institution’s warehouses.
The deputy said that it is necessary for citizens to go to the authorities to report this type of act, in which state resources are lost.
The complaint filed by Thomas also affects the CSS Purchasing Director, Ana Patricia Cuestas; the Legal Head of Purchasing, Ana Karina Pinilla; the Executive Director of Administration, Edwin Montenegro; and the Legal Advisor of Logistics, Guadalupe Torres.
The deputy explained that it is not possible for hundreds of people to go to the CSS facilities in search of medicines and that now we know of the existence of expired medicines worth more than $2.5 million.
He explained that these expired medications could have helped a large number of people who are suing for serious health problems.
Panama will call a meeting of all the ambassadors of the European Union accredited in the country, to express its rejection of the decision to keep the country on several discriminatory lists.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, asked the Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez Acha – who is returning from an official trip to Spain and Portugal – to summon all ambassadors to express the national government’s dissatisfaction with this latest measure to keep the country on a list of tax havens.
Recently, the 27 countries that make up the European Union decided to remove Antigua and Barbuda from their “black” list of tax havens, a decision that reduces the list to 11 jurisdictions that the European Union (EU) considers non-cooperative for tax purposes, among which Panama remains despite the fact that the European Commission removed it from the list of high-risk third countries for the EU financial system.
“With all due respect, Antigua and Barbuda, there is no comparison between countries with respect to what that island is and what the Republic of Panama is with its geographical position, strategic for the world, including the European ones. I have asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who must return today from a trip he also had to Portugal and Spain, to summon all the European ambassadors to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to show them the dissatisfaction of the National Government with this new outrage. It has no reason to exist. We do not launder money as a State policy and much less finance terrorism, nor are we in a position to sponsor international scoundrels,” the president replied when asked about this classification in which the country finds itself.
Mulino said that this issue is part of what he will discuss with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during his trip to that country this month. He also hopes to meet with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
He reported that, in addition to several ministers, he will be accompanied on this trip by the Director General of Revenue, Camilo Valdés; the Superintendent of Banks of Panama, Milton Ayón; and Carlos Raúl Moreno, from the Action Group for International Financial Equality (Gapifi); to contribute to the defense of Panama’s good name abroad.
On the other hand, he assured that although he has indicated that he will not support in international instances the countries that have Panama on discriminatory lists, in the case of the Security Council, the position and role of Panama will be consistent with those that the country has always had in the concert of Nations in matters of global security.
“Our vote in the Security Council will be used responsibly. We will not do anything crazy there,” he said.
Panama is classified as a partially compliant country in tax matters by the Global Forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
This classification by the OECD Global Forum is what means that the country is specifically included on the European Union’s list of tax havens.
This designation relates to countries that have not engaged in a constructive dialogue on tax governance or have not met their commitments to implement necessary reforms and that must aim to meet a set of objective criteria of good tax governance, such as transparency, fair taxation or the implementation of international standards such as the exchange of tax information, designed to prevent base erosion, profit shifting or the use of these territories to evade taxes.
The previous administration of the General Directorate of Revenue had assured that the exchange of fiscal and tax information was already being complied with, but the Global Forum evaluation had not been carried out to update Panama’s status.
This assessment is expected to take place in 2025.
One of the demands placed on Panama was to reach agreements on the issue of accounting records, which requires regulation of the existing law.
According to tax and banking experts, Panama currently has 100% compliance in the exchange of banking and beneficial owner information. In addition, it claims that supervision of companies has increased.