News
Tuesday 23rd April 2024.
April 22, 2024
The Government of Panama informed Nicaragua that it decided to call José De Jesús Martínez , Panamanian ambassador in that country, for consultations.
The reason? The political activities of former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) from the headquarters of the Nicaraguan embassy located in the La Alameda urbanization, where he is entrenched.
In a diplomatic note, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama reiterated its strongest protest to Nicaragua by allowing, under the protection of an alleged “protection, which is illegal in accordance with international law,” former President Martinelli to maintain and deploy actions , from the diplomatic headquarters, for political-partisan purposes.
“The Republic of Panama feels truly affected in its territorial integrity by the permissive attitude of the Republic of Nicaragua that flagrantly and repeatedly violates fundamental norms of international law,” says the letter, dated this Monday, April 22, 2024. .
Likewise, through the note Panama asks Nicaragua to comply with its international obligations.
It is not the first time that Panama has sent several notes to Nicaragua about the case of the former Panamanian president who, from the embassy, meets with his family, co-partisans and candidates of his Realizing Goals party. Likewise, on social networks he shares messages in favor of José Raúl Mulino, who replaced him as presidential candidate with a view to the elections on May 5, 2024.
It is not the first time that Panama has sent several notes to Nicaragua about the case of the former Panamanian president who, from the embassy, meets with his family, co-partisans and candidates of his Realizing Goals party. Likewise, on social networks he shares messages in favor of José Raúl Mulino, who replaced him as presidential candidate with a view to the elections on May 5, 2024.
It must be remembered that on at least four occasions (February 9 and 27 and March 8 and 14), Panama has sent letters to Nicaragua to object to the asylum granted to Martinelli, who claims to be “politically persecuted.” . In the last of these notes, the country formally protested the “permissive attitude of the government” of Nicaragua, by “openly” and defiantly contravening the development of its embassy.
Meanwhile, Nicaragua, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has rejected Panama’s accusations and instead asks to recognize the asylum and grant safe passage so that Martinelli can travel to that Central American country.
The 72-year-old former president of Panama entered the Nicaraguan embassy on February 7, five days after the Supreme Court of Justice announced that the Criminal Chamber had not admitted an appeal for cassation presented by Martinelli and four others. people sentenced to prison for laundering the funds used to acquire the shares of Editora Panamá América, SA (Epasa) , in the so-called New Business case. The sentence he received was 128 months in prison and a $19.2 million fine.
At a crucial moment in which the constitutionality of one of the eight presidential candidates for the elections on May 5 is being legally debated , most of the main members of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) are absent: some on vacation and others will go on a work trip.
According to information from the General Secretariat of the Court, judges Maribel Cornejo and Ariadne García are on vacation. Cornejo, from April 15 to May 2, while García, from this Monday, April 22, also until May 2.
María Eugenia López , president of the Court, and her colleagues Ángela Russo and Miriam Cheng, will go on a work trip from April 24 to 26.
Their deputies will be in charge. Although the Judicial Branch does not have an updated list of substitute magistrates on its website, as approved by the Cabinet, the substitutes for the traveling or vacation magistrates are: Juan Francisco Castillo (from López Arias), Katia Di Bello (from Russo), Lilianne Marie Ducruet (from Cheng), Manuel Mata Avendaño (from García) and Otilda Vergara (from Cornejo).
López, Cornejo and García make up the Second Criminal Chamber of the Court , which means that this department would be completely left without its main magistrates.
In the hands of the CSJ is the future of the candidacy of José Raúl Mulino , the presidential standard bearer of the Realizing Goals (RM) and Alianza parties. The 11-1 agreement with which the Electoral Tribunal (TE) authorized Mulino to assume the presidential candidacy of RM and Alianza was sued as “unconstitutional” in Court. Mulino was the candidate for vice president of the formula of these two parties.
In the opinion of political analyst José Eugenio Stoute , it must be understood that “they are practically avoiding ruling on the Mulino case, which in practice is an irresponsible way of making a decision.”
“If this is confirmed (absences), the Supreme Court of Justice will have lost credibility and legitimacy, which it gained with its ruling on the contract with First Quantum,” he added.
Actors from civil society, jurists and even presidential candidate Martín Torrijos have called for the issue to be resolved. During a press conference he held on April 1, Torrijos said that “it is not normal” that it is still unknown how the presidential electoral ballot will be made up, facing the elections on May 5.
The anti-corruption prosecutor María Araúz requested a conviction for the alleged commission of the crimes of embezzlement and falsification of documents for former deputy Mario Miller and seven other people, after an investigation that revealed that deputies of the National Assembly (AN) used forms of that entity to defraud the State.
During a trial held last Wednesday, April 17, prosecutor Araúz requested a conviction verdict for Miller and Migdalia Sánchez (also accused) for the crimes of embezzlement and falsification of documents. While for the accused María Araúz, Marisel Araúz, Isabel Araúz, Eréndira González, Edith Navarro and Ismael Frías requested a conviction verdict for the crime of embezzlement.
During the trial, the defense lawyers presented three incidents of annulment of the process, but these will be resolved by the first judge liquidating criminal cases, Agueda Rentería, at the time of handing down the sentence.
After the scandal and Miller’s involvement, the Democratic Change Party, to which he belongs, decided to separate him from that political conglomerate so that he could face the judicial process.
The investigation began in 2014 following an investigation carried out by the newspaper La Prensa , which revealed that some deputies used the AN payroll to defraud the State, through the issuance of checks in the name of third parties, who exchanged the checks and charged a commission for this task and the rest of the money was delivered to Miller and the rest of the defendants in this case. The checks issued by the AN were supposed to provide financial aid to communities in need, but these funds were never delivered to their residents.
The Autódromo Panamá took a very important step for national motorsports, when the track received grade three from the International Federation (FIA).
This was confirmed by the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem , in a video before starting the first grand prix of the GT Challenge of the Americas.
“This is a dream to see this track and this high-level category,” said Dante Pescetto , FIA representative in Panama.
“In America, only Mexico and Brazil have a grade three track,” he added.
All race tracks need authorization from the FIA , which has licenses for grade one to six tracks.
The top category is grade one, which can celebrate the Formula One grand prix . The evaluation ranges from the dimensions of the track and the weight of the cars.
Precisely, the Autódromo Panamá, upon receiving license three, can organize and celebrate GT Challenge de Las Américas and Formula 4 races.
“We are news in Formula 1, being approved in category three. This makes us the third track in all of America. This was confirmed by the president of the FIA from China,” said Norberto Navarro, president of the Autódromo Panamá.
“We achieved the goal of putting Panama in an important position in the racing world. We already have requests from Formula 3 that wants to do an event, Formula 4 , Porshe Cup, the TCR and we also want to do a Formula 1 event ,” he concluded.
Kenneth Darlington , accused of the murder of two people in Chame in November of last year , is being held in the La Joya Penitentiary Complex by order issued by the Judicial Branch, the General Directorate of the Penitentiary System reported in a statement.
The organization in this way discards the rumors of the change of detention location of 77-year-old Darlington , who was charged with crimes of Aggravated Intentional Homicide and Possession and Trafficking of weapons and explosives.
Kenneth Darlington shot Iván Rodríguez and Abdiel Díaz, who were at the demonstrations against mining activity on November 7 of last year, in Chame. Both lost their lives in the incident.
Saint Pedro Nolasco, the founder of the Order of Mercy, comes to life through a virtual avatar in the Merced Church in the Old Town of Panama City.
A vertical touch screen is the display case in which this avatar of the monk Nolasco, born in Barcelona, Spain in the year 1180, lives. Visitors can select different options to learn about the history of the church and the historic center of the capital of the isthmus.
“Welcome to the Old Town of Panama, a historic destination to live the faith intensely,” says the monk Nolasco, as he guides users to follow the virtual tour with the option of a tourist visit or the description of the church.
The priest tells how the order of mercenaries arrived in Panama more than 500 years ago.
The virtual assistant that is installed in each of the churches and religious sites in Casco, has in its menu the tourist visit option in which it shows a video of all the religious sites of interest in the area and an interactive map. Additionally, the application can be activated in both Spanish and English.
María Isabel Arrocha, in charge of the public program of the churches of the Old Town, highlights that using technology and modern tools they seek to help attract more tourists by giving them facilities to locate in the area.
“Sometimes we see tourists on the streets a little disoriented about where to go and what to do, they don’t have a map and are somewhat lost, so what we have done is place a virtual assistant in each of the churches.