Human Interest

Monumental meeting planned for June between US and DPRK.

The expected summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will take place on June 12 in Singapore, the US president announced Thursday, after receiving in the early morning the three released by Pyongyang. “We will try to make it a special moment for world peace!” Trump added …

Legal

Indicted trader is extradited back to Panama.

Trader Nidal Waked returned to Panama yesterday, two years and six days after being arrested in Colombia, at the request of the United States, where he finally pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money. Yasser Williams , Waked’s lawyer in Panama, confirmed the return of his client, although in the …

Labor

Varela seeking end to SUNTRACS with intervention

President Juan Carlos Varela today requested an arbitration if they do not reach an agreement at the parallel table between the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) and the Single Trade Union of Construction Workers and the like (Suntracs). day sunday “The government asks you very respectfully to go to an …

Politics

New election committee for Panamenista

The National Directory of the Panameñista Party chose the night of this Wednesday, May 9, in a secret vote, the members of its new National Elections Committee. The members of the National Elections Committee will be in charge of organizing the internal processes of the Panameñista Party on the occasion …

Human Interest

Panama no place for Neo-Liberalism

Panama will host the Second Regional Global Industrial Union Conference where trade union leaders from different parts of the world will participate, who will denounce that neoliberal policies are again on the agenda of the governments of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This activity will take place …

Labor

National Assembly hiring all askew

Civic and business organizations rejected the increase in funds, by more than 600%, in three budget items used to hire personnel managed by the deputies of the National Assembly (AN) . These are items 02 (temporary staff); 080 (trusted staff) and 172 (professional services contracts), which went from $ 5 …

Politics

Criminal complaints to be filed today against Carles

To the magistrates, according to the norm, also corresponds to send the file with the recent failure to the electoral public prosecutor JUDICIAL Two criminal complaints will be filed today against the Labor Minister, Luis Ernesto Carles, after magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal, through a ruling, sanctioned the dismissal that …

Politics

Ayala to be denounced before the Supreme Court

The questioned modification presented by the deputy of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Roberto Ayala, to bill 53, with which the so-called “legislative shrimp” was introduced to repeal Law 2 of February 10, 2015, continues to generate criticism and actions legal The lawyer Ernesto Cedeño today filed a complaint with …

Legal

Crimes of animal abuse will result in jail time starting May 2

On Wednesday, May 2, prison sentences against people who commit a crime of animal abuse begin to apply . This was recalled by the organizations Spay Panama, Angels of Animals, Foundation San Francisco de Asis and Patas y Pies, and a group of independent rescuers  who celebrate this validity. People …

Politics

List of 20 candidates sent to Supreme Court

The Executive sent the list of 20 candidates to the Supreme Court POSTULATIONS After a lot of waiting, the Executive Body forwarded the purged list of the 20 aspirants to the magistracy of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ). Only two will be chosen magistrates (one for the criminal chamber …

Local Culture

March on Labor Day

A group of people marches, the morning of this Tuesday, May 1, from the Porras Park to the Plaza 5 de Mayo, to commemorate the Day of the Worker. + info Suntracs agrees to maintain strike in the construction sector Prior to the march, a mass was held in the …

Politics

Electoral registry for 2019 elections

  In compliance with the General Elections Plan, the  Electoral Tribunal (TE) reported that it carried out this Monday, April 30, 2018, the closure in the country of the electoral registry, for the next electoral tournament of 2019. This step was completed after two years of debugging and updating this …

Politics

National Assembly faces harsh criticism

The wave of criticism for lack of transparency, the inclusion of a “goal” at the last minute and the emergence of a new political alliance that, for the first time in this quinquennium, changed the correlation of forces in the  National Assembly were some of the facts that marked the …

Politics

Varela delays 20 position appointments

President Juan Carlos Varela  has delayed the appointment of at least 20 important authorities in different State entities. This, despite the fact that the positions are vacant for several months. Apart from the three magistrates of the  Supreme Court of Justice who must appoint to replace Alejandro Moncada Luna , …

Legal

Zimbabwe legalizes cannabis production

Producers must have local citizenship or proven residence in the country and will be subject to controls by the Government Zimbabwe legalized the production of cannabis for medical or scientific purposes as long as it has an official license, the state newspaper The Herald reported today. The news was announced …

Crime
1

Odebrecht’s Alleged Bribery

A report by the Security Council that aims to establish the beneficiaries of direct and indirect payments made by the Odebrecht construction company through the Department of Structured Operations, lists a series of public limited companies and the infrastructure projects that the Panamanian State contracted through which supposedly the money …

Politics

Pinilla defends Valdes

The ex-judge of the Electoral Tribunal (ET), Erasmo Pinilla, came out to defend the two officials of the Electoral Organization Directorate and to talk about the country’s political scene. He considered as a “very dangerous recklessness” the complaint presented by the party in formation Unión Nacional Independiente (UNI) against Osman …

Politics

National Assembly releases form 080 used by deputies to hire support staff

The National Assembly (AN) released yesterday, through its website, the 080 form, which is used by the deputies to hire support staff. There are 248 pages with the information of the people hired through this form, to which the Comptroller’s Office carries out a concomitant investigation. The amount of this …

Politics

Tribunal Electoral will be enabled for change of residence requests

The seven district offices, including the regional headquarters of  the Electoral Tribunal in Los Santos, will be enabled this weekend so that the interested voters can specify their change of residence. Dámaso Díaz , regional director of electoral organization of Los Santos, justified the decision saying that Monday April 30 …

Crime

Public Ministry orders arrests of 2 men in connection with Jal Offshore

The Seventh Anti-Corruption Prosecutor ordered the arrest of Salomon Jack Btesh and Valentín Martínez Vásquez in the investigation carried out for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering by transfers from the investment account of Jal Offshore Ltd. in  Financial Pacific ( FP). The arrests of Btesh and …

Crime

Odebrecht and Financial Pacific cases revived

The Public Ministry initiated yesterday a series of proceedings in the cases of Financial Pacific and the bribes of the construction company Odebrecht. In this way, the entity ordered conductions to people related primarily to the Financial Pacific case, and simultaneously issued a statement on the reactivation of the Odebrecht …

Legal

OSJ is concerned about the speed of the justice system

Experts believe that suspensions of hearings should not be allowed PROCESSES The Observatory of the Judicial System (OSJ) of the Republic of Panama is concerned about the current stagnation of justice, especially in processes in which the future of the investigation is at stake for the prescription of criminal cases. …

Legal

Prosecutor’s office orders investigation of 18 people

The Seventh Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office yesterday issued orders to investigate 18 people, as part of the process that follows for the alleged commission of the crime of money laundering, linked to the alleged use of privileged information at the Financial Pacific (FP) stock house during the government past (see list). …

Legal

Anticorruption Special Prosecutor orders investigation to go through against Alvarez

The  Anticorruption Special Prosecutor  ordered the conduction for investigative purposes of  José Porta Álvarez , one of those investigated by the Odebrecht case  . Porta Álvarez was treasurer of the campaign of  José Domingo Arias , candidate for the presidency of  Cambio Democrático  in 2014. This is one of the …

Politics

Varela proposes to eliminate payment of ITBMS to Panamanians buying in Colon

The President of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, proposed to eliminate the payment of the Tax on Transfer of Movable Property and Services (ITBMS) to Panamanians who buy in Colón Puerto Libre. The measure was announced during the Cabinet Council held in the province of Colon on Tuesday. The president indicated …

Legal

Rule to repeal PSA has existed

The questioned ‘legislative shrimp’ promoted by the deputy Roberto Ayala, of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), and that repealed Law 2 of February 10, 2015, regarding the contract law with the company PSA Panama International Terminal, SA, in charge of the operation of a container terminal in Rodman, was not …

Politics

Carlos Rubio is new government minister

The President of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, announced the appointment of Deputy Minister Carlos Eduardo Rubio as the new Minister of Government, replacing Minister María Luisa Romero, as of May 2, 2018. The president thanked Romero for having accepted the challenge of being Vice Minister of Government and then …

Legal

Public ministry hosts libel lawsuit against Navarro in Odebrecht case

Jaime Lasso Del Castillo, member of the Panameñista Party and who acknowledged having collected funds from the construction company Odebrecht for the group between 2010 and 2014, sued for slander and insult to the presidential candidate Juan Carlos Navarro, of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, for having affirmed in National Television …

Legal

Deputy Ayala says the contract with PSA is a violation of the Constitution

The deputy of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) Roberto Ayala, harshly questioned for introducing a modification to the project 53 whose original objective was to adopt measures related to the process of opening companies and which ended up repealing Law 2 of February 10, 2015, was defended Yesterday through a …

Politics

Keep an eye on the Varela administration awarding of contracts

by James “JB” Bryson I made a quick little post the other day about the “promise” going forward of more oversights in the awarding of lucrative government infrastructure and high paying engineering and civil projects to inside contacts within past administrations. Look, if one recalls back in the US during …