News
Wednesday 7th August 2024.
August 6, 2024
The lack of suitable evidence saved the deputy of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Raúl Pineda , from being investigated by the Supreme Court of Justice, within the framework of the anti-drug operation called Jericho.
In a ruling dated July 11, the full Court (with a report by Judge Olmedo Arrocha ) considered that the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) did not provide a precise and clear account of the facts investigated that would suggest the possible participation of the deputy in the commission of a crime.
“From the documentation we have received for our information, we can see that the investigation is in its infancy and lacks information, which leads us to conclude that it was submitted in a hurry and not with the proper analysis that this type of procedural management entails,” the ruling states. It adds that, if the MP finds other elements, an investigation could be opened against Pineda.
Jericó is an operation by the Sensitive Unit of the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) and the Drug Prosecutor’s Office, initiated in June 2023, regarding the existence of a criminal group made up of Colombians, Mexicans and Panamanians, allegedly dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to the investigation, the aforementioned network maintains operations in Darien, Panama and Los Santos. The prosecution is already investigating the alleged participation of Abraham Rico Pineda , son of the deputy Pineda. It is suspected that the son was the person in charge of handling the money.
Through the new report of May 29, 2024, the DIJ sent information and a CD with the investigation to the Court. Why? Because (through telephone interceptions duly authorized by a judge of guarantees) it was discovered that among Rico Pineda’s contacts was his father, the deputy of the Assembly.
The Court acknowledges that the Drug Prosecutor’s Office sent it a report of the proceedings carried out, but notes that said report does not indicate how the commission of a crime and the participation of the deputy are configured.
The Court held that the information provided by the MP was precarious, limiting itself to linking the father and son through their communications, without indicating the context of said contact.
The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) expressed concern on Tuesday, August 6, over the serious situation facing the La Prensa Corporation in Panama, warning that the possible completion of any of the numerous lawsuits against this media company could affect its ability to survive.
This scenario would have a “significant negative impact” on freedom of expression in the country, according to the IAPA, which stresses the importance of protecting independent media from judicial pressure and excessive lawsuits that seek to silence them.
The company is currently facing 15 civil proceedings and 5 criminal lawsuits from former officials, former state contractors, deputies and other public figures, including former head of state Ernesto Pérez Balladares and the wife of former president Ricardo Martinelli , for a total sum of more than $60 million in fines and compensation.
In late November, a court overturned in second instance the ruling in favor of Corporación La Prensa (Corprensa) in the civil suit for alleged damages of $5.5 million filed by former President Pérez Balladares in 2012, as recorded by the IAPA in April, in its mid-year report.
The court ordered Corprensa to pay $5,000 in moral damages . The first instance ruling had been described as an important precedent in favor of press freedom, due to the use of the principle of actual malice to exonerate the media outlet. The case is currently under appeal before the Supreme Court of Justice.
These data were disclosed to the SIP by Annette Planells , president of the board of directors of Corporación La Prensa.
The Minister of Public Works, José Luis Andrade , revealed that he halted “biased” tenders, approved by his predecessor in office, Rafael Sabonge , shortly before the change of government.
He also stated that Sabonge “never fined a contractor company” for non-compliance, during the five years he was in charge of the MOP (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2024).
Andrade did not specify whether he had filed the respective complaints with the competent authorities, but said that he did complain to Sabonge for not having fined any of the companies that breached their contractual obligations.
The minister made these statements on Telemetro Reporta on Tuesday, August 6, the same day that the newspaper La Prensa revealed the list of the 10 companies that cornered 71.9% of the total amount of the works tendered by the MOP.
In the last five years, the MOP tendered contracts for at least $1,936 million.
The minister warned that every company that participates in public events must “win at the table.”
“The tender for a project [awarded] before President José Raúl Mulino took office was cancelled. That project was halted because it was biased,” revealed Andrade, who did not specify whether he has filed the respective complaints with the authorities, so that the possible commission of a crime can be investigated. He assured that under his command, “all tenders will be impartial and without bias.”
La Prensa reported that on July 10, Andrade suspended a tender in the Ngäbe Buglé region, because the specifications had to be “reviewed and modified” to “obtain the greatest benefit for the population and the State.”
Andrade stressed that the tender – awarded by Sabonge shortly before he left the MOP – did not take into account the maintenance of the road, so a new call for tenders will be made soon. He announced that he is “renewing the inspection department” of the MOP .
“People have to do the work. There are companies that have five or six time addenda and that cannot be done,” he stressed.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , invited the presidents of the country’s political parties in order to address the crisis affecting the Disability, Old Age and Death (IVM) program of the Social Security Fund (CSS).
In fact, this is one of the main challenges that Mulino will have to deal with: confronting the CSS crisis, a consequence of the low collection of the worker-employer contribution with which pensions are financed.
The president will have to deal with a bankrupt pension subprogram and actuarial debts of the CSS that range between $65 billion and $75 billion , which would have to be paid to current and future pensioners who are part of the exclusively defined benefit subsystem between now and 2079, according to figures shared by the CSS Actuarial Technical Board.
In the note, signed by the Minister of the Presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac , the meeting was called for next Thursday, August 8 at 3:00 pm, in the Paz Room of the Presidential Palace.
One of the first political party presidents to respond to the invitation was Ricardo Lombana , of the Movimiento Otro Camino (MOCA) party.
“As I said before, we will be there to listen and evaluate, giving our contributions ,” Lombana said on social network X.
The president said on August 1 that he received the list of 29 candidates for the position of director of the CSS from the board of directors of that institution, emphasizing that an evaluation will be carried out to make the decision. “I saw the list. There are people I know and others I don’t. And others with a terrible reputation because of the history with which they have managed that institution in the past,” he said.
The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , has called a meeting with 17 regional leaders to address the current situation in Venezuela. To this end, Mulino instructed the Foreign Minister, Javier Martínez Acha , to speak with his counterparts and extend the invitation to the leaders, so that this meeting takes place in Panama.
These are the presidents of the countries who, on July 31, during an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the OAS , endorsed a resolution on the electoral process in Venezuela. The resolution, which demanded that the Venezuelan authorities immediately publish the minutes of the presidential elections, did not obtain the necessary support to be approved.
That day, in addition to Panama, the countries that voted in favor were: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Uruguay.
According to Mulino, the aim of this meeting is to “try out more actions that support democracy and the popular will” of Venezuelans. “I hope and trust that the proposal will be accepted soon,” the Panamanian president stated on his X account.
On July 28, presidential elections were held in Venezuela. According to the Venezuelan National Electoral Council , Nicolás Maduro was re-elected with 51.95% of the votes, while Edmundo González Urrutia , the opposition candidate, obtained 43.18%.
Meanwhile, the majority opposition, grouped in the Democratic Unitary Platform, published on a website “81%” of the electoral records, which confirm that its candidate won the elections by a wide margin.
Panama is one of the countries that has recognized González Urrutia as the legitimate president-elect of Venezuela.
Through order No. 5224 of July 31, the High Court for the Liquidation of Criminal Cases ruled the nullity of the proceedings against the former director of the Social Security Fund (CSS), Guillermo Sáez Llorens , investigated for the alleged commission of the crime of embezzlement to the detriment of that entity.
The ruling, signed by judges José Hoo Justiniani, Eyda Amarilis Juárez and Manuel Mata Avendaño, nullified the investigation carried out by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, since the conduct displayed by the suspect does not fit within the conduct that can be determined as a crime.
The ruling also details that the audit carried out by the Comptroller General of the Republic in 2017 states that Sáez Llorens did not engage in any actions that caused harm to the CSS.
Since the early hours of Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Panamanian officials have been carrying out an operation against a criminal group dedicated to committing fraud.
The operation has led to the execution of more than 20 simultaneous search warrants in the provinces of Chiriquí and Panama.
This is Operation Galardón , which has preliminarily resulted in the arrest of eleven people, detailed the Superior Prosecutor, Nahaniel Murgas, who added that the investigation has been underway since 2022. According to reports, members of the criminal group made phone calls to their victims, informing them that they had won prizes and that, in order to claim them, they had to pay for legal procedures. Among the prizes offered were houses, cars, trips and money. The investigation is ongoing.