Monday
Monday 16th September 2024.
September 15, 2024
Attorney Rafael Araúz Canto , partner of former deputy Zulay Rodríguez , was arrested this week as part of the process for the appropriation of 68 kilos of gold owned by Mexican merchant José Luis Penagos , now deceased.
The arrest took place on September 9, when Araúz was in the company of his mother, Luz Canto de Araúz , near Coronado , in Chame, province of West Panama. Agents of the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) of the National Police had been following the woman for several days and, until then, did not know the whereabouts of her son.
The Araúzes are being investigated for the complaint filed by Juan David Penagos Ríos , for the alleged commission of at least four crimes: against economic assets (in the forms of theft with breach of trust and fraud ), against economic order ( money laundering ), against collective security ( criminal association ) and against the administration of justice ( prevarication ).
Penagos Ríos, son of José Luis Penagos, also denounced former deputy Rodríguez and her husband, Álvaro Testa. The Judicial Office has tried to locate Testa at the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) , where he works, and at his residence, in a building in Bella Vista. The ACP reported that he was on vacation until September 16.
Since Mrs. Luz de Araúz is 76 years old, she was not taken by the DIJ agents, who did take her son Rafael.
The lawyer spent the night in custody and the next day was brought before a judge , who legalized the arrest and modified the personal precautionary measures. Now he must be notified once a month and is prohibited from leaving the country.
As for the former deputy, she has not yet been charged, as she did not appear at the hearings convened on four occasions by the Supreme Court of Justice, when this body had the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute her.
Since Rodríguez was not re-elected as a deputy for San Miguelito in the elections of May 5 (a contest in which she also participated and lost as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic and for the mayor of San Miguelito), the Court declined the process to the ordinary sphere. There is also the detail that on February 26 (the day before one of the hearings of imputation against her), Rodríguez had resigned from her seat, although the National Assembly took almost four months to notify the Judicial Branch of this maneuver.
On September 4, he also failed to appear at a hearing before a magistrate. His lawyers did attend. The hearing was postponed until September 19.
The deceased José Luis Penagos was a former client of Rodríguez. He hired her services as a lawyer after being arrested in 2009, when he was traveling through Tocumen airport with 68 kilos of gold that, after an analysis, showed traces of methamphetamine.
Rodriguez has always claimed that he kept the gold bars as part of an agreement for payment of his fees. Penagos, however, denied the existence of this alleged agreement and said that he thought his gold was safe in a vault at the National Bank of Panama .
Penagos died during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the claim was continued by his son and widow, who finally filed the complaint two and a half years ago. The son has said he wants to reach an out-of-court settlement with the defendants.
Following the discovery of 81 steel beams out of a total of 600 that had disappeared and were intended for the repair of the Las Américas bridge and that had disappeared from a yard of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) , the Public Prosecutor’s Office has proceeded to carry out several raids since the early hours of this Sunday, September 15.
The Attorney General’s Office reportd that during the raids carried out by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police, 18 H beams were located in Panama Oeste and 26 H beams in Herrera, with the specifications reported by the Ministry of Public Works, as part of an investigation into a crime against the Public Administration (embezzlement). They reported that in addition to the ocular inspection of a premises located on Avenida Nacional, the National Police also located another 6 H beams.
Part of the 81 steel H beams found, of the 600 that were lost Part of them are being sold and destined for recycling.
Specifically, this is a workshop that had purchased a total of 53 H beams and had them located in various places, both in Herrera, on Avenida Nacional in Panama City and in a recycling plant also in the capital.
In a report from the National Directorate of Judicial Investigation, it is indicated that after a telephone call indicating the alleged location of some beams similar to those stolen from the Ministry of Public Works , the Herrera Police Intelligence Section proceeded to carry out an inspection and raid of an establishment.
Upon arriving at the establishment named Recimetal, located in the Province of Herrera, District of Chitré, district of Monagrillo, sector of Boca Parita, several people were observed on site and a container that was being loaded with H beams.
After the procedure, the owner of that premises, a Colombian citizen, naturalized in Panama, indicates that they sold him a total of 53 beams that are distributed as follows:
▪️Six (6) beams in the workshop on Av. Nacional, 27th Street, Calidonia, Resimetal Panama Workshop Patio.
▪️Fourteen (14) in the Chitré District, La Arena Township.
▪️Twelve (12) in Boca Parita, Recimetal Panama Recycling Plant.
▪️Twenty-one (21) chopped beams in Panama, on 27th Street, corner, between Curundú and California, in a recycling plant.
According to the official report, during the raid in Herrera it was determined that the H beams were being lifted into a green container. Due to the dimensions and weight of the beams, two forklifts belonging to the D,Car Workshop were being used.
The report details that the citizen involved in the acquisition of these beams is facing proceedings for the alleged commission of a crime against public administration , in the form of different forms of embezzlement to the detriment of the Ministry of Public Works.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered that the beams not be moved until the facts were clarified. In addition to the discovery of several beams in workshops and courtyards of establishments, it was learned that pieces of H beams have been found in communal councils throughout almost the entire country.
Businessmen associated with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama will present proposals to solve the crisis of the Social Security Fund (CSS) .
This was stated in the text of the Camera opina, by the president of this union, Juan Alberto Arias, who indicated that he considers positive and responsible the recent call of the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , to urgently address the serious situation of the Social Security Fund (CSS)
This Monday, September 16, a roundtable discussion will be held to present proposals and discuss the crisis at the Social Security Fund, according to an announcement by President José Raúl Mulino.
“This call is an urgent step that the population as a whole has been waiting for for years. This challenge has been irresponsibly and indolently postponed by previous administrations for a long time, with profound consequences for the well-being of our current and future generations,” said Arias.
Specifically, he said that the Panamanian private sector is prepared to contribute to this work with a critical and constructive vision, as well as with scientific proposals that allow finding sustainable solutions.
“The private sector’s proposal on retirement and pensions pursues three specific objectives: (i) preventing poverty in old age; (ii) guaranteeing the financial sustainability of an equitable pension program; (iii) including the participation of workers and employers through voluntary savings to improve pensions,” he explained.
The president of the Cciap indicated that social security requires a much more profound transformation than addressing the situation of the Disability, Old Age and Death program.
“The importance of CSS as a public service for the population requires reengineering in order to have an efficient corporate government – which does not mean privatization, but optimization – far from politicking, which greatly improves the services that users receive,” he said.
The business association indicated that the CSS administration should focus on the end user, guaranteeing services of the highest quality, with highly trained human resources (and not politically appointed), and with cutting-edge technology.
“The approach must be comprehensive. To achieve this, it is essential that all sectors of the country participate actively and in a spirit of collaboration. There is no time to lose. This is a key moment to act responsibly and firmly.”
Around one and a half million flowers have shaped more than a hundred animal figures in Panama this Sunday during the eighth edition of the ‘Parada de las Flores’, a colorful annual event that showcases the art of “mosaic art.”
“It is an event focused on flower mosaics, as you can see around the fairground. We have different pieces that we make with natural flowers. For more than 15 days we have worked every day to be able to arrive and have this colorful display of flowers that are in figures all over the fairground,” Virginia López, a member of the Volcán Flower Parade Foundation, told EFE.
The event takes place in the town of Volcán, located in western Panama, 500 kilometers from the capital, on the slopes of the Barú Volcano, the highest point in the country, with a temperate climate (between 15 and 25 degrees) compared to the high temperatures of the rest of the country (which sometimes exceed 30 degrees).
In harmony with colors and creativity, floats paraded this Sunday displaying the nuanced animal figures on a route through the streets of this town, to the applause of spectators.
At this event, not only is fashion exalted with dresses that present approaches from formal to tropical, made with flowers, but also animals, such as turtles, owls, roosters, hens, horses, the Quetzal, sheep, butterflies, musical instruments, the Holy Bible and the table of the 10 commandments with a verse, among many other representations.
Ronal Emir Lizondro, one of the 25 people who make up the team that makes the figures on display, explained to EFE that making a dress for a mannequin takes a whole day, including carefully selecting the color and type of flowers needed for each design, where some require about 1,000 flowers of different colors. “Little by little we are giving the doll its shape and luxury to display it. It has been a very intense job and between the 25 of us we have managed to make 15 dolls and many other figures for the public because you can work very well with nature,” Lizondro told EFE while finishing the tropical dress.
Some 160,000 visitors are expected to come this year to enjoy the tourist attraction, which ends on September 17, Lopez said, noting that it is an annual event, where flowers of the chrysanthemum, astromelia and heliconia varieties are used to make the figures on display.
The Flower Parade also boosts the local economy through tourism and trade during this low season by generating an internal tourist boom by offering visitors a unique experience that highlights natural beauty and agricultural production, say the organizers.
Lopez described the event as a “success” because it received visitors from different parts of the country and from nations such as Costa Rica and Mexico, among others.