OP ED: The Scumbag Hall of Fame Just Got a New Member – Gaby Carrizo Gets the Boot from PARLACEN and Good Riddance!
By James “JB” Bryson – Panama Now Online
Listen up, Panama. If you thought the Cortizo era was finally in the rearview mirror, think again. The ghosts of that thieving administration just got slapped in the face by the very people who usually welcome crooks with open arms. That’s right – even the PARLACEN, the Central American Parliament that’s been called a “cueva de ladrones” more times than I can count, looked at former Vice President José Gabriel “Gaby” Carrizo and said NO. Not just no – a resounding 91 votes against, 3 in favor, 27 abstentions. They flat-out refused to let this clown get sworn in.
Even the den of thieves doesn’t want this guy. That tells you everything you need to know.
Let’s call it what it is: Gaby Carrizo is a scumbag. A first-class, grade-A, steal-from-the-people-while-smiling-for-the-cameras scumbag. While he and “Nito” Cortizo were running the show from 2019 to 2024, Panama got looted like a piñata at a birthday party gone wrong. Overpayments? Check. Bribes? Check. Straight-up stealing? Double check. And yes – while deadly fentanyl started flooding our streets, this crew was too busy lining their pockets to give a damn.
Don’t believe me? Look at the facts staring us in the face right now. In January 2026, prosecutors finally moved on Gaby for unjustified enrichment – up to $1.9 million that somehow magically appeared in his accounts that he couldn’t explain. House arrest, travel ban, the whole circus. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This is the same administration that rammed through that sweetheart Panama Ports concession to the Chinese without a proper bid – the kind of deal that smells like bribes from a mile away. Back taxes paid, no competition, and Panama gets the short end while somebody’s pockets get fat. Classic Cortizo-Carrizo move.
Overpayments? They spent triple what previous governments spent and delivered zero infrastructure worth bragging about. Roads still suck. Hospitals still a joke. But hey, the ministers and their buddies sure drove nice cars and took nice vacations, didn’t they? Stealing life-changing millions while the rest of us paid the price. That’s not governance – that’s organized theft with a government seal on it.
And then there’s the fentanyl crisis. While Gaby and Nito played politics, Panama became a highway for that poison. Stolen deadly fentanyl hitting our streets. Kids dying. Families destroyed. Panama Now Online has been screaming about it for years – we’re not immune to the opioid wave, and it got worse on their watch. Coincidence? Or just another example of a vice president who couldn’t be bothered to secure our borders while he was busy securing his own bank balance?
The best part? Some PRD deputy had to go to bat for Nito and Gaby to try to force their way into PARLACEN. Ernestina Morales or whoever – defending the indefensible. But the rest of the body said hell no. Even the Central American crooks’ club drew a line. That’s how toxic these two are. That’s how radioactive Gaby Carrizo’s reputation has become.
Panama deserves better. We’ve had enough of these smiling thieves in suits who talk about “social inclusion” while they include themselves in every shady deal that comes down the pike. Gaby Carrizo isn’t a victim of political persecution – he’s a poster boy for why Panamanians are sick to death of the same old corrupt game.
PARLACEN did the right thing for once. They looked at this scumbag and said: Not in our house.
About damn time somebody did.
James “JB” Bryson – Telling it like it is from Panama Now Online. No filter. No agenda. Just the truth Panama needs to hear.