News
THursday 22nd August 2024.
August 21, 2024
The judge of guarantees, Carmelo Zambrano, charged money laundering and ordered the preventive detention of Omar Alexander Ortega , alleged partner of Abraham Rico Pineda , in the company Servicios Múltiples Rama, arrested within the operation Jericó .
During a hearing that began at 9:00 a.m. and lasted more than two hours, Judge Zambrano determined that the crime charged to Ortega is of a serious nature, that there is a risk of destruction of evidence and possible neglect of the process by the accused.
Drug prosecutor Joseph Diaz alleged that Ortega, in association with Abraham Rico Pineda, used the company Servicios Múltiples Rama to launder money from illicit activities.
Díaz explained that the aforementioned company was used to stratify money from illegal activities, and that proof of this was the seizure of $89,000 that was taken to the company to be legitimized.
According to the prosecution, this money was received by Pineda from the Colombian Jhonatan Parra, and was subsequently introduced into the money flow of Servicios Múltiples Rama.
According to a financial performance report, the company Servicios Múltiples Rama maintains economic activities worth $8.2 million and costs worth $4.4 million.
During the indictment, the prosecution also reported that Ortega also has interests in the companies Mares SA, Innova Production, Sepsa SA and the Maron Foundation.
Prosecutor Díaz informed the judge that in this case there was a leak of information, when in the investigation that was still kept confidential, a report was requested from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) on the companies in which Pineda appears.
The day after the information was requested, several lawyers appeared at the prosecutor’s office with a copy of the request made by their office, Díaz said.
He also explained that days after this incident, Omar Ortega transferred a Tesla car valued at $70,000 to the Maron Foundation.
The investigation also revealed that Ortega was an official of the National Assembly and that he received a salary of $2,000.
In another hearing, a judge also charged him with conspiracy to launder money and ordered the preventive detention of Luis Pittí, also wanted in Operation Jericho.
In this case, the prosecution was able to charge another 21 people with the crimes of money laundering and conspiracy to launder money.
For their part, Agustín Martínez Palacios and Elquis Martínez, Ortega’s lawyers, argued that their client is not mentioned in any of the wiretaps provided by the Drug Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation.
Ortega’s defense also explained that the prosecution has no interceptions of conversations between Ortega and Rico Pineda and has no responsibility for the activities carried out by the company Servicios Múltiples Rama.
They also explained that the investigation was based on mere assumptions, but not a single piece of evidence has been presented linking him to the alleged commission of any illegal act.
On Wednesday, August 21, the National Police arrested Juan Manuel Aguilar Reyna , who was one of the most wanted by the authorities, for being allegedly linked to Operation Jericho.
Reyna was arrested in the district of Arraiján (West Panama), specifically in the El Diamante sector, and was taken for the corresponding procedures.
This person is part of those wanted in Operation Jericho, which began last Thursday, August 15, 2024, for the alleged commission of crimes related to drug trafficking.
So far, more than 20 people have been arrested, while authorities are still searching for another seven, who are allegedly related to these investigations.
According to investigations, three tons of drugs and more than $300,000 were seized from this criminal organization .
Attorney General Javier Caraballo confirmed during a press conference on Tuesday night, August 20, that those involved in Operation Jericho were working closely with Mexican cartels.
Members of the country’s medical community gathered last night, Tuesday, August 20, at the Ateneo de Ciencias y Artes to support pediatrician and neonatologist Iván Sierra Robles, who was sentenced to 60 months (5 years) for the administration of heparin with benzyl alcohol, which resulted in the loss of lives of newborns at the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex of the Social Security Fund (CSS).
The Medical Association of Panama, together with the National Medical Association and various associations, stressed that, while they share the pain of the affected families, it is essential to guarantee a fair trial that considers all the circumstances and responsibilities of those involved.
Doctors are demanding that the court review the entire process, even though it has ended, because, according to them, there are flaws in the investigation.
Sierra Robles said that the investigation was not carried out from a scientific point of view, but rather it was a targeted investigation to find a culprit.
“I am not dismayed, I am rational. I will do what is necessary within the rules of our judicial system to prove the truth,” he said.
Recently, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) did not admit an appeal filed by the defense of Sierra Robles and Melia Maibis Mock Sevillano, both sentenced to 60 months in prison .
In a ruling on June 24, under the direction of Judge Ariadne García, the Criminal Court dismissed the appeal filed by the defense of both defendants.
The High Court for the Liquidation of Criminal Cases amended a judgment of June 22, 2022, issued by the Third Liquidation Court of Criminal Cases, and declared the doctor Sierra Robles and the pharmacist Mock Sevillano guilty of the crime of negligent homicide, and disqualified them from exercising public functions for a period of one year, once the main sentence had been served.
Initially, the Third Criminal Court issued an acquittal ruling in favor of the accused, but the Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal against that decision.
The Confederation of Independent Trade Union Unity (Conusi) and the National Council of Organized Workers (Conato) met this Wednesday, August 21, with the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, to address the financial and health problems facing the Social Security Fund (CSS) , as well as the draft reforms to Organic Law 51 of the entity.
Marcos Andrade , Secretary General of Conusi, stated during the meeting that “we do not want parametric measures or a privatization of the institution.”
“We believe in a public and supportive system, and that is the most important thing to consider in any proposal or solution that is going to be given to the CSS,” he added.
Andrade said that, in terms of health, the CSS has serious problems with the medical appointment system and medicines, pointing out his disagreement with the high cost of medicines and the shortage of supplies in the facilities. “We do not agree that, unilaterally, a sector, whether it is the government or businessmen, wants to impose a measure to solve this problem.”
The workers’ unions informed President Mulino that the appointment of Dino Mon as future director of the CSS “has generated concern and distrust because he has expressed his sympathy for parametric measures, such as a possible increase in the retirement age and contributions.”
In a statement, the workers said: “We are convinced that behind the debate on the CSS, there are large economic interests that are betting on social confrontation and the privatization of the institution. We call on the population to be properly informed in order not to fall into misinformation.”
“I am concerned about the Caja and I will do what I have to do to save it. These meetings are a first step in that direction. We have to create a single front, that is why I invite all sectors to make a national crusade to save the Caja, which belongs to all Panamanians,” Mulino told the labor leaders.
Gasoline prices continue to decline. Starting this Friday, August 23, 91 and 95 octane gasoline prices will decrease.
According to the Energy Secretariat, the price of 91 octane gasoline will drop by one cent per liter and will be sold at 94 cents. Meanwhile, the price of 95 octane gasoline will drop by two cents per liter and will be sold at $1.00.
Low-sulfur diesel will see a one-cent drop, at 84 cents per liter.
These prices will be valid until next Friday, September 6, 2024.