News
Tuesday 18th March 2025.
March 17, 2025
The Autonomous University of Chiriquí (Unachi) announced the revocation of full-time appointments granted to professors with degrees from the American Andragogy University (AAU) , an institution based in Hawaii, United States.
The decision was made by the General University Council #1-2025 on Monday, March 17, 2025.
Through an official statement, Unachi also reiterated that it has repealed the evaluation and validation of degrees issued by the AAU and the Atlantic International University (AIU) .
On several occasions, President José Raúl Mulino has referred to UNACHI as an “institution hijacked by politicking.”
The first time was on August 15, 2024, when the president answered a question about the chancellor’s intervention in the National Assembly’s Budget Committee.
Mulino stated at the time that “we shouldn’t give him a single cent more than he already has and he’s wasting it.” He advised him to “better keep his mouth shut,” adding that “every time he speaks, he opens the door to the biggest Public Prosecutor’s Office. ” Mulino called Unachi the “PRD’s winter headquarters.”
Recently, during his press conference on February 27, he reaffirmed that his administration will not allocate additional funds to the $72 million allocated in the 2025 state budget for this institution, due to alleged cases of “scrupulousness, waste, and corruption.”
“The country knows perfectly well what my opinion is of that university and, above all, of its rector,” Mulino said.
In 2023, former congressman Juan Diego Vásquez reported that UNACHI was granting full-time professorships to individuals who supposedly held short-term master’s and doctoral degrees (six months or less with the online modality), which were issued by a higher education institution not accredited by any recognized agency in the United States.
The ruling in the New Business case is “duly final” and no violations of due process have been found, as alleged by the main defendant in this case, former President Ricardo Martinelli .
That was the opinion of the Attorney General (in charge), Jorge Luis de la Torre Franco , who sent it in writing to the presiding judge of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), María Eugenia López Arias .
The opinion of the acting attorney was requested by Judge Olmedo Arrocha , rapporteur of a claim of unconstitutionality presented by lawyer Ángel Álvarez , against the order to investigate Martinelli issued two years ago by Emeldo Márquez , the prosecutor who instructed the investigation for money laundering in the purchase of Editora Panamá América, SA (Epasa) through basket accounts in the name of the company New Business.
For this case, Martinelli was already sentenced to 128 months in prison, fined $19.2 million, and barred from holding public office. To evade prison, the former president fled to the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama, where he has remained since February 7, 2024.
De la Torre maintains that New Business is already res judicata, that the defense has had “countless opportunities” to raise its disagreements, and that claims like the one presented by Álvarez cannot be used as a tool to “correct errors . ”
“The full Supreme Court of Justice made it clear that the unconstitutionality action is not a means of reexamining judicial decisions as if it were just another stage of the criminal process,” the acting attorney general emphasized in a 25-page document he sent to the presiding judge on March 14.
In his lawsuit, Álvarez alleges a claim that has been repeatedly raised by Martinelli’s lawyers: that the former president has been denied due process because he is supposedly protected by the specialty principle, contemplated in the extradition treaty signed between the United States and Panama in 1904. However, the United States has already said that the aforementioned principle no longer applies to Martinelli.
De la Torre recalled that the former president’s defense has filed several legal actions (annulment and controversy motions, effective judicial protection appeals, etc.), in which it insists the principle of specialty has been violated. All have been ruled against, in various instances. The full Supreme Court of Justice has even examined the issue and upheld a decision by the Third Criminal Court , which held that Martinelli had already lost the principle of specialty that protected him.
“The plaintiff’s arguments appear to take an absolutist stance regarding the principle of specialty, ignoring the fact that the extradition treaty itself contemplates exceptions to this principle. These exceptions were decided by the trial court and appealed by the parties involved, demonstrating the safeguarding of effective judicial protection and, therefore, due process,” wrote the acting attorney general.
He added that, at its core, there is no real violation of fundamental rights, but rather a discrepancy in the interpretation of the rules by the judges involved in the case. Another argument in Álvarez’s lawsuit is that there were violations by not allowing the defense to cross-examine (during the trial) two witnesses from the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime: Riccardo Francolini and Henry Mizrachi. Both were absent despite being summoned. The acting prosecutor opined that this “circumstance” is not a topic of debate in this judicial sphere.
Regarding New Business, at least four unconstitutionality claims have already been filed, alleging violations of due process and the principle of specialization. One, presided over by Judge López, was rejected. The other three are in Arrocha’s office. The last one was submitted last Thursday, when the plenary, in a 5-4 vote, agreed to admit it.
A judge ordered preventive detention and charged two men with femicide and criminal association, against 9-year-old Ana Victoria Mina, who died on March 14 in Mano de Piedra, Rufina Alfaro district, San Miguelito district , during a shootout between rival gangs.
During the hearing held at the San Miguelito Accusatory Criminal Court, the trial judge validated the arguments presented by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office for Homicide and Femicide and ordered the preventive detention of both men.
At the hearing, the Public Prosecutor’s Office argued that both defendants pose a serious risk to community safety because they belong to criminal groups operating in that area and also pose a flight risk.
According to investigations conducted by the Public Ministry, the 9-year-old girl was returning from school with her grandmother when two men armed with pistols opened fire on another man, and the girl was shot in the head.
The minor was taken to a hospital, but died due to the severity of her injuries.
The two defendants were arrested by police yesterday, Sunday, March 16, during a police operation in San Miguelito.
Both detainees did not resist arrest after being located by the authorities.
The San Miguelito district has become one of the most violent areas in the country. In 2024, of the 54 homicides reported in the country, 17% occurred in that area.
Police Director Jaime Fernández ordered increased surveillance in that area, where several gangs compete for drug sales.
Three investigations are underway following the widespread blackout that occurred on the night of Saturday, March 15, and the early hours of Sunday, March 16, 2025.
These are the investigations announced by the National Authority for Public Services (ASEP), the La Chorrera Primary Care Section of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Panamanian Fire Department.
ASEP reported that a team of experts will be integrated into the investigation into the blackout.
Zelmar Rodríguez Crespo, general administrator of ASEP, explained that the goal is to clarify three key aspects:
- The cause of the explosion at the Pan-Am thermal power plant.
- The reason for the collapse of the electrical system that caused the national blackout.
- The reason for the delay in service recovery.
In a statement, Rodríguez Crespo indicated that he has instructed technical, administrative, and legal staff to intensify their investigation efforts, emphasizing: “We cannot draw conclusions without a thorough investigation of the facts.”
He added that the report from the National Directorate of Fire Safety, Prevention, and Investigation of the Meritorious Fire Department of the Republic of Panama is expected to be available. This report, along with other studies and expert analysis, will help understand the behavior of the recovery system and the oscillography of the protections at the power plants.
The entity clarified that, while it is premature to assign responsibility, ASEP is empowered to impose sanctions ranging from B/.1,000 to B/.20 million, depending on the severity of the case, once the due process has been completed.
On Monday, March 17, Public Security Minister Frank Ábrego urged unions that have called for street protests to express their concerns peacefully and respectfully.
For this Tuesday, March 18, teachers’ unions announced they will support a national march against the approval of Bill 163, which proposes reforms to the Organic Law of the Social Security Fund (CSS).
In this regard, Minister Ábrego urged the protesters to preserve order and the common good.
In a message posted on the social network X, he reminded everyone that the right to protest is a fundamental pillar of democracy, protected by international treaties and the Constitution . However, he also made it clear that road closures and blockades affect mobility, access to emergency services, the country’s economy, and everyone’s safety.
In addition, several teachers’ unions announced last Saturday that they will support a work stoppage scheduled for next Friday, March 21.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the National Police, Jaime Fernández, warned that street closures will not be permitted during the teachers’ strike over the approval of the CSS reforms.
“We do not oppose the right to demonstrate, but street closures and an escalation of violence like that recorded at the Children’s Hospital will not be permitted,” Fernández said, referring to the violent clashes that occurred on February 12 between workers from the National Union of Construction and Related Industry Workers (Suntracs) and members of the National Police near the construction project for the new Children’s Hospital.
A former official of the Ombudsman’s Office was provisionally detained for his alleged involvement in possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The arrest took place in the town of Betania, where authorities seized technological devices that, after being analyzed by forensic experts, were found to contain the material.
This action was part of Operation Viper, led by the Spanish Police’s Child Protection Section, which seeks to combat the distribution of child sexual abuse material in various countries.
Upon learning of the arrest, the Ombudsman’s Office dismissed the official and expressed its strong condemnation of crimes related to child pornography.