Friday
Friday 13th December 2024.
December 12, 2024
“We are facing a country that has neither God nor law,” said the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , on Thursday, referring to Nicaragua and pointing out that neither international nor domestic law is respected there.
The Panamanian president made these statements in the context of the complaint filed by Panama to the Nicaraguan government regarding the political activities carried out by former President Ricardo Martinelli at the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama.
“We must also understand that we are not working with an ordinary country that respects international law. It does not respect international law, domestic law, or any other law,” said Mulino. He added: “It is a rather unique country when it comes to appealing to the law. That does not exist there. There is no law in Nicaragua.” Martinelli, who has been in asylum at the embassy since February 7 to avoid serving a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for money laundering in the New Business case, has maintained an active political participation, using social media and meeting with members of his party, Realizing Goals (RM).
Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha reported that last week he called the Nicaraguan ambassador to Panama, Consuelo Sandoval, to ask that the embassy be used exclusively for asylum purposes and not as a “focus of political meetings.”
The situation in Nicaragua has been the subject of growing international concern. According to a report by the UN Human Rights Office published last September, human rights in the country have seriously deteriorated, with an increase in arbitrary arrests, intimidation of opponents and violations of the rights of indigenous peoples.
The report highlights that Nicaraguan authorities persecute not only dissidents, but also any organization or individual acting independently, including media outlets, NGOs and human rights defenders.
In the midst of this crisis, President Daniel Ortega has pushed through a constitutional reform that concentrates power in the figure of two “co-presidents” – Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo – and eliminates the separation of powers.
Civil society organizations have denounced that this reform “consolidates the closure of civic space, eliminates freedom of expression and ensures impunity for human rights violations.” In addition, it allows statelessness, repeals the prohibition of torture and militarizes state control. The IDEA Group, made up of former heads of state and government from Spain and the Americas, urged Western democracies not to normalize what they consider a dictatorship. “The country is adopting an openly dictatorial constitutional model that is shared by the Ortega-Murillo couple,” they said, warning of the historic regression and attacks on freedom of expression and religion in Nicaragua.
The judge of guarantees Lizeth Quintero suspended the hearing of the accusation against the former director of the Institute for the Training and Use of Human Resources (Ifarhu) , Bernardo Nando Meneses , after the Public Ministry (MP) presented an appeal of constitutional guarantees.
The MP’s appeal is against the decision adopted by Judge Quintero herself in a hearing on the violation of rights held on December 4 and which was requested by Meneses’ defense in which she alleged a violation of her fundamental rights.
On that occasion, Judge Quintero admitted the alleged violation of Meneses’ fundamental rights and set a hearing for today for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to present its charges.
However, the prosecution opposed Judge Quintero’s decision to declare that Meneses’ rights had been affected, and so it filed an appeal before the First Court of Justice.
In the act that began at 3:00 pm today, Judge Quintero read the notification sent by the First Court of Justice that ordered the suspension of the hearing of the indictment of Meneses, after the admission of the protection of guarantees.
Judge Quintero said she must comply with the order issued by the Court and order the suspension of the hearing until she resolves the appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the decision adopted by her office on October 4.
For his part, Ángel Alvarez, Meneses’ defense attorney, argued that the prosecution refused to present its charges due to the lack of evidence linking Meneses to the alleged commission of a crime against public administration through the allocation of financial aid through Ifarhu.
Alvarez said that his client is willing to face the judicial process and that in this case there is no evidence that he committed any illegal act when handing out financial aid and scholarships when he served as director of Ifarhu.
The judge of guarantees Mylein Jaén charged the legal entity Servicios Múltiples Rama for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering related to Operation Jericho.
It also ordered the suspension of its operating notice before the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the provisional suspension of operations in the Public Registry .
The measure applied by the judge, at the request of the Drug Prosecutor’s Office, seeks to prevent the transfer of properties and changes in the company’s board of directors that could interfere with the investigations.
During a hearing, which began at 11:00 am on Thursday, December 12, Judge Jaén accepted the request made by drug prosecutor Joseph Díaz to charge the company Servicios Múltiples Rama for having been allegedly used by Abraham Rico Pineda and Maybeth Araúz ( wife of Abraham Rico Pineda) to launder money from drug trafficking.
In his argument, prosecutor Díaz stated that Omar Ortega, who appears as the legal representative of Servicios Múltiples Rama, was the front man for Pineda and Araúz for the movement of money from illicit activities.
Servicios Múltiples Rama was chaired between 2015 and 2019 by Rico Pineda, currently detained and charged with the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering.
According to the prosecution, Ortega assumed the role of legal representative in 2019 and allegedly received multiple money transfers from illicit activities. Ortega, who remains detained in the Tinajitas prison, was present at the hearing via Zoom.
The prosecutor also explained that Servicios Múltiples Rama was used as a logistics point for the transfer of money from drug sales.
According to the prosecutor, proof of this was the arrest of Colombian Jhonatan Parra with the sum of $89,895 that was given to him by Abraham Rico Pineda in the parking lot of Servicios Múltiples Rama, money that tested positive in Ion Scan tests for drugs.
For her part, Nadia Castillo , a lawyer for Servicios Múltiples Rama, argued that the company is engaged in lawful commercial activities and that the prosecution has not been able to prove that it was used for illicit activities.
Operation Jericho began on June 30, 2023, and dismantled a criminal group dedicated to money laundering and drug trafficking.
Deputy Janine Prado , head of the Vamos legislative group , revealed the highlights of the meeting she held with the rest of her colleagues with President José Raúl Mulino , after the president described the meeting as “very good” at his weekly press conference.
By telephone, Prado highlighted the timing of the debate on Bill 163, which reforms Law 51 of the Social Security Fund (CSS) , as a key point , since the extraordinary sessions in which the matter is being analyzed end on December 31.
“At all times he (Mulino) had indicated December 31 as the deadline and, although that is his power as Executive to call extraordinary sessions until that date, I believe that our position was very clear regarding the fact that, even if there was a desire to discuss this, there would not be enough time for approval,” Prado said.
The deputy recalled that during the first debate the project is reviewed article by article, so, in her opinion, it is “unfeasible” to meet this deadline.
“We believe that this will continue in ordinary sessions during the month of January, and that would be appropriate,” she said. “Nobody here wants to open a first debate and have, so to speak, a steamroller come in wanting to approve at a rapid pace a bill almost mounted on December 24. As one of my colleagues said, it would be like a ‘Christmas blow’. Neither that nor the early mornings are what is wanted,” she said. “It is clear that doing nothing is not an option. If we do not take action, the consequences will be devastating, especially for current retirees and those close to retirement,” Prado said. He also pointed out the need to consider both the reforms to the IVM program and the problems of access to medicines, medical appointments and essential equipment in health services.
The Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP) declared the closure of the herring fishing season for small and large-scale vessels.
The measure, he said, came into effect on November 29 until the opening of the 2025 season is decreed.
While the closure lasts, the Arap will only authorize vessels that carry out studies and that have a valid license to fish for anchovy, herring and orqueta.
On November 22, the Research and Development Department of the entity issued a report on the results of the evaluation carried out by the company in charge of analyzing the behavior and growth of these fish during the fishing season.
According to the report, the Arap determined that the average size of a herring was 16.3 centimeters, a measurement that complies with the management plan.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , acknowledged that there is a delay on the part of the State towards the banks for the payment of the preferential interest that is granted as a discount to home buyers, in addition to the debt with housing developers for the pending issues of the Housing Solidarity Fund that expired on June 30.
“There are hundreds of millions of dollars in arrears, but there will be no more solidarity bonds, but rather preferential interest rates,” he said. According to the Panamanian Chamber of Construction, the debt with the developers amounted to 140 million dollars until June.
He assured that an alternative will be sought, but by way of including this segment of housing that was covered by the bonus, that is, those from $40,000 to $70,000 through the preferential interest law that must be reformed in the National Assembly.
He admitted that this situation of default on loans owed to both developers and banks for preferential interest is causing the issuance of loans and access to housing to be paralysed.
He said that he will meet on Thursday, December 12, with the managers of the National Bank of Panama and the Savings Bank, Javier Carrizo and Andrés Farrugia , respectively. In addition to the Ministers of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman and the Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning, Jaime A. Jované C.
According to the National Council of Housing Developers, at least 40% of the companies that develop housing projects between $45,000 and $70,000 have closed. The main problems are in the interior of the country, where 80% of the projects are paralyzed, covering more than 90 real estate developments, some in the construction phase and others ready to be sold and occupied.
“We still have to deal with the preferential interest law, which will have to undergo some modifications in the legislative calendar,” said Mulino.