News
Tuesday 3rd September 2024.
September 2, 2024
This Monday, September 2, the first transition meeting was held between the Comptroller General of the Republic, Gerardo Solís, and his replacement, Anel ‘Bolo’ Flores .
Flores was elected Comptroller on August 22 by the full National Assembly , a position he will assume starting January 1, 2025, replacing Solís, whose term expires on December 31.
Elí Felipe Cabezas Justavino will be in charge of the deputy comptroller , who, like Flores, was nominated by the ruling party Realizing Goals (RM) .
This meeting takes place amid criticism against the current comptroller, Gerardo Solís.
Recently, the Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom, the Panamanian chapter of Transparency International (TI), urged the Supreme Court of Justice to resolve as soon as possible the unconstitutionality claim they filed against Law 351 of December 22, 2022, which modifies the organic law of the Comptroller’s Office.
According to the Foundation, these changes have allowed the discretionary use of millions of dollars in the national budget without proper oversight, resulting in scandals such as “financial aid” and “parallel decentralization.”
On the evening of Thursday, August 29, the National Assembly approved in second debate the bill that modifies the general budget of the State for 2024 ( Law 418 of December 29, 2023 ). Here are some relevant facts that you should know about the subject:
- It was approved that transfers of $500,000 and one cent or more will be sent to the Budget Commission of the National Assembly for approval or rejection. The Executive had proposed that transfers of over $5 million would be sent to the Assembly, but during the first debate the deputies lowered that limit to $200,000.
- Amounts from $200,000 and one cent up to $500,000 and one cent will be evaluated, processed and authorized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
- In cases of national emergency declared by the Cabinet Council, the Executive, through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, may process transfers of funds for an amount of $2 million. In the project that the MEF presented to the Assembly, $10 million was proposed.
Travel expenses abroad were as follows:
- High-ranking officials traveling to Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania will be entitled to $600 per day . Those traveling to the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Chile will be entitled to $500 per day. Those traveling to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America will be entitled to $400 per day.
- The rest of the officials, directors, administrators, among others, when traveling to Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania, will be entitled to $500 per day. While when traveling to the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, they will be entitled to $400 per day. Meanwhile, for Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America, they will be able to collect $300 per day.
- At the time of voting, 62 deputies from different parties gave the green light to the legislative initiative.
Two deputies of the National Assembly for the five-year period 2024-2029 are in the focus of the judicial authorities for cases related to drug trafficking. One of them is even linked to money laundering.
Who are they? They are PRD member Raúl Pineda , who is linked to Operation Jericho , an operation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police that dismantled an organization dedicated to international drug trafficking and money laundering.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has asked the Supreme Court of Justice to investigate Pineda for this case , since it has telephone interceptions that would prove that his son, Abraham Rico Pineda Tejada, allegedly laundered money for the group investigated by Jericó. In the hearing in which Pineda Tejada was charged with the alleged commission of money laundering, prosecutor Joseph Díaz revealed the existence of audios that link him to the delivery of almost $90 thousand to the Colombian Jonathan Parra, who was arrested by the police and, in a plea agreement, confessed that the money was the product of money laundering.
In the wiretaps made of Rico Pineda, the prosecution mentioned a person with similar characteristics to the deputy, but has not revealed the name because it does not have the authority to investigate him. However, the Court, according to the ruling, did not provide a “precise, clear and detailed” relationship that suggests the possible participation or connection of the deputy with a criminal act.
However, the same ruling also states that, if new elements emerge that reveal the possible connection of the deputy of the Democratic Revolutionary Party with Operation Jericho, the Public Ministry may send a new request to the Court to investigate him.
The other case is that of Isaac Mosquera Rivas , a deputy of the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (Molirena) . It turns out that the First Liquidation Court of Criminal Cases sent to the Supreme Court of Justice the case against this deputy for the alleged commission of a crime against public safety related to drugs.
The case must be assigned to one of the nine judges who make up the full Court. In addition, a magistrate to oversee the proceedings and a magistrate prosecutor must be appointed to process the case.
Last year, the now-liquidated Third Criminal Court acquitted Mosquera and eight other people who were being investigated for drug-related crimes, but that ruling was appealed by the Drug Prosecutor’s Office.
In its ruling, the court sentenced two people to 72 months in prison for drug possession and acquitted them of money laundering.
It all started in April 2011, when an operation by the Drug Prosecutor’s Office dismantled an alleged drug trafficking network linked to the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This group used the facilities of the Albrook Flight school to transport drugs. At that time, the Drug Prosecutor’s Office accused Mosquera of being one of the alleged leaders of this criminal network.
At that time, one of the drug prosecutors leading the case was Javier Caraballo, now Attorney General of the Nation.
This is not a new issue in the Assembly. In past periods, narcopolitics has also interfered in the Legislature. For example, in the 2019-2024 period, it was revealed that Carlos Roberto Aguilar, alias Robert, had financed the campaign of Elías Vigil, then deputy of the Panameñista Party in circuit 8-6 (24 de Diciembre, Las Garzas, Mañanitas, Pacora, Pedregal, San Martín, Tocumen).
Robert, according to authorities, leader of the Humildad y Pureza (HP) gang, is the husband of Teresina Vigil, who is being investigated for alleged commission of organized crime.
Due to the absence of an expert who is on maternity leave, the trial scheduled for this Monday, September 2, against Kenny Alberto Quintero Cedeño, accused of the murder of the girl Lina Fabiola Rojas, was rescheduled for July 2025.
The prosecutor for Homicides and Femicides of Chiriquí, Hernán de Jesús Mora, confirmed the request made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Trial Court.
Kenny Alberto Quintero Cedeño has been detained since May 12, 2023, and is charged with charges against life and personal integrity in the form of femicide and for the crime against freedom and sexual integrity, of which the girl Rojas was a victim.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Virna Lissy Lezcano, confirmed that she will request a 48-year prison sentence for the accused .
A delegation from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), led by Director General Luis Roquebert, met with the board of directors of the Panama Maritime Chamber (CMP) to discuss the future of the country’s maritime, logistics and port sector.
During the meeting, both parties expressed their commitment to work together to promote the growth of these key sectors for the Panamanian economy.
“The AMP will promote an open-door policy without a double agenda,” said Roquebert, who also assured that his administration will be based on transparency and equal opportunities. He stressed that the requests of the various organizations in the sector will be handled in a professional and efficient manner.
Roquebert stressed the importance of maintaining efficiency, speed of service, process automation, transparency and effective attention to shipowners and seafarers, as pillars to strengthen Panama’s position as a world leader in ship registration. “We will make the necessary adjustments within the legal framework to maintain and reinforce Panama’s international prestige,” he added.
For his part, José Digeronimo, president of the CMP, expressed the Chamber’s willingness to collaborate with government authorities in the development of policies and projects that benefit all Panamanians. Both organizations agreed to maintain close collaboration and hold regular meetings focused on issues of common interest.
The CMP, which represents the maritime, logistics and port industry of the Republic of Panama, is currently made up of 240 companies in the sector.
The container ship MSC Marie transited the Panama Canal , setting a new record as the neopanamax with the greatest cargo capacity to cross the interoceanic waterway.
Measuring 366 metres long and 51 metres wide, the MSC Marie has a capacity of 17,640 TEUs or units equivalent to a standard 20-foot container.
MSC Marie thus surpasses the previous record holder Ever Max, which held the 17,312 TEU, from August 2023.
The ship paid a little more than $1.3 million in tolls to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an amount to which payments for other additional services would have to be added. The MSC Marie arrived in Panama from the port of Manzanillo, Mexico.
Just this week, the ACP announced changes to the Transit Reservation System (booking), as part of the rates for complementary maritime services.
These adjustments arise from the recent introduction of long-term time slots, a new scheme designed for the business model, which, amid potential water shortage or drought events, can provide predictability to customers.
Various transit slot booking packages will be offered to different market segments, meaning that a single customer will be able to obtain multiple bookings in a single transaction.