News
Thursday 20th June 2024.
June 19, 2024
Felipe VI of Spain formally confirmed this Wednesday, June 19, his participation in the inauguration ceremony of the elected president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino , on July 1, 2024.
This was reported by Miguel Lecaro, coordinator for the outgoing Government of the transfer of presidential command.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, also confirmed his attendance. A few weeks ago, the Colombian president had reported that he would visit the province of Bocas del Toro to ask the Panamanian Government to be able to “dig up” the bodies of Colombians who died at the end of the 19th century and “recover” them as part of Colombian history. . But he postponed his trip.
Lecaro also reported that the prime ministers of Belize and Aruba confirmed their attendance.
Regarding the attendance of Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, he indicated that he has not yet formally confirmed it. According to Mulino, the Salvadoran president had told him that he would come to Panama.
Last week, the Foreign Ministry reported that the leaders of Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras and Paraguay had confirmed their presence.
The Vice President of Guatemala , Karin Herrera, announced this Wednesday that she will travel to Panama to attend the inauguration of the president-elect, José Raúl Mulino , on July 1.
“I have been delegated to participate in your emotional democratic celebration of the transfer of command,” Herrera reported through her official networks.
The vice president, who will attend in place of the president, Bernardo Arévalo de León, added that “the ties between Guatemala and Panama have been deeply intertwined over time, and today, together, we celebrate democracy throughout Latin America.”
On July 1, José Raúl Mulino, 64, will take the presidential sash to govern that country in the period 2024-2029.
Mulino, a former minister and substitute for former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) in the elections, came to power after obtaining 34.23% of the votes in the elections held on May 5.
So far, the heads of state of Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras and Paraguay have confirmed their attendance at the change of Panamanian presidential command.
Former Panamanian soccer player Jaime Penedo reported that he has been offered the Technical Directorate of Sports and Recreation of the Panamanian Sports Institute (Pandeportes) , but he made it clear that he will go with his work philosophy.
Penedo , goalkeeper of the World Cup team in Russia 2018 , said that yesterday, Tuesday, he went to the first transition meeting, accompanied by Miguel Ordóñez , designated director for Pandeportes.
“I have my politics and philosophy. I am very attached to the topic of performance. The center of Pandeportes has to be the athlete, because that’s how it is. We do not have to neglect that, beyond the fact that Pandeportes is an administrative institution, it is owed to the athletes,” said Penedo , who is currently the technical development advisor of the Panamanian Football Federation (Fepafut) .
“The money that exists must be well managed and well distributed for the training of athletes. For high- performance athletes and I am going a little more for the topic of training sports,” she added.
The renowned goalkeeper highlighted that the position of technical direction encourages him a lot, because he likes to contribute his grain of sand to all disciplines and made it clear that he has his job idea ready.
“I leave after three months or last five years. I have nothing about politics . I would simply go for things to be done well, to be done correctly,” said Penedo, during the press conference for the Scotiabank U-11 National Children’s Soccer Championship.
“It is an address that handles money. The money belongs to everyone, because in the end it is the money that comes from taxes. And if it has to be allocated to athletes and programs , let it be done correctly,” he added.
Roxana Méndez will join the government structure of the elected president, José Raúl Mulino , after her appointment as general director of the questioned National Decentralization Authority (AND).
During the government of Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) she was Minister of Government. She was also mayor of the district of Panama.
Méndez was in charge of the Mayor’s Office of Panama , when he replaced Bosco Vallarino, who left office after admitting that he had accepted a bribe from businessman Alexander Ventura Nogueira for the construction of underground parking in the Belisario Porras park.
Currently, Méndez works as a social consultant and chairs the Foundation for Human Development.
In the general elections of May 2014, she failed in her reelection as mayor, being relegated in third place, obtaining 29% of the votes, being surpassed by José Isabel Blandón of the Panameñista Party by obtaining 35% of the votes.
In 2013, Méndez was linked to an investigation in Spain for the alleged use of public funds from the Panamanian State – in the hands of Spaniards – to promote political campaigns for her candidacy as Mayor.
The investigation mentions the creation of “ghost” news portals to promote Méndez, who allegedly allocated funds from the Municipality of Panama to obtain these services.
The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) ordered the provisional suspension of the effects of Resolution No. DEIA-IA-055-2023 of July 13, 2023, in which the Ministry of the Environment (Miambiente) approved the Study Category II Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Caribbean Corridor project, in Colón.
The contentious administrative claim for annulment, filed by Susana Serracín, an environmental lawyer, was admitted by the CSJ.
This is stated in edict No. 1822 of June 17, 2024 , which orders the provisional suspension of the construction project of the Quebrada Ancha – María Chiquita highway, known as the Caribbean Corridor, carried out by the Ministry of Public Works (MOP). at a cost of $91,635,204.76.
This 28.40 kilometer project has been denounced by environmental groups because it could cause strong environmental impacts to the Sierra Llorona Natural Reserve, located in Colón, in the Puerto Pilón district.
The work was divided into two sections: the first from Quebrada Ancha to Sierra Llorona, and the second section from Sierra Llorona to María Chiquita.
Serracín pointed out that precisely one of the strongest criticisms is that the EIA of such a large project has been fragmented into two stages.
“The fragmentation of a project of this nature, deliberately, is with the aim of showing that the impacts are more moderate or minimal and not seeing the project as a whole, as an integral project.”
The environmental lawyer highlighted that “one of the criticisms, which the Miambiente technicians themselves pointed out at the time, was the richness and importance of the area, that there are species that are still being studied and that a project with these characteristics is not recommended. in the area with the alignment that they have,” he stated.
The Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino , stated this Wednesday, June 19, 2024 that the double homicide recorded yesterday in Guánico Abajo, province of Los Santos, is related to drug trafficking. Pino also pointed out that those responsible for this crime belong to a criminal network that operates in the cities of Panama and Colón.
After this double homicide that occurred early Tuesday morning, Pino said that constant aerial and maritime surveillance is maintained in the Guánico Abajo area, since it is an especially vulnerable area for the landing of drugs.
Investigations by anti-drug authorities reveal that the event is related to the control of a drug trafficking route, an area that was previously controlled by the group dismantled in Operation Alpes , led by Carlos Mosquera .
The National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) has announced the lifting of the green and yellow alerts throughout Panamanian territory starting at 4:00 pm this Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
This decision is based on technical analyzes from the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama (Imhpa), which predict periods of cloudy skies and downpours with possible storms, typical conditions of the rainy season.
In addition, the Imhpa has reported that Tropical Storm Alberto, which is moving in the Gulf of Mexico, does not represent a danger to Panama.
The green and yellow alerts were maintained as preventive measures against various significant atmospheric systems in the region. It was reported that the Emergency Operations Center (COE) will continue monitoring and surveillance in vulnerable areas against possible isolated downpours.
With a daily average of 95 calls, between January and May of this year, the Panama Fire Department has responded to 14,499 emergency calls.
According to a report from the Radio Control Section of the entity’s National Directorate of Extinction, Search and Rescue Operations, the response trips were mostly to attend to cases of Africanized bees and grassland fires.
This report details that the cases treated nationwide due to the presence of Africanized bees totaled 4,634. Of that amount, the highest number of responses was provided during the month of March with 1,202 and was followed by April with 1,108.
Regarding fires, firefighters report that in the first five months of 2024 they attended 4,235 emergencies; Of this total, 3,669 were due to burning of grasslands. In addition, 324 structural fires were recorded, 218 vehicular, 20 forest (protected areas) and 4 maritime.
On the other hand, 1,092 vehicle accidents were attended to, 1,363 injured due to various situations, 872 calls for burning garbage, 525 for electrical damage, 428 for cutting and removing fallen trees and 400 for animal rescue.
In cases of burning garbage, it is worth remembering that emergencies occurred due to accidents in waste dumps such as the Patacón hill landfill, which required the intervention of the Fire Department and other entities on several occasions this year.
The responses due to gas leaks totaled 253 and the false alarms recorded were 259.