On Monday, May 5, attorney Neftalí Jaén filed a criminal complaint against Canal Minister José Icaza Clement for possibly committing a crime against the international personality of the State.

According to Jaén, the minister may have committed “treason against his position as minister.”

“Mr. Minister for Canal Affairs, José Ramón Icaza Clement, I have filed a criminal complaint against you with the Attorney General’s Office for signing that agreement, that declaration of understanding with Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of State for the United States. According to Article 431 of the Penal Code, you could have betrayed the public interests of the Panamanian state by signing that document that compromises security, sovereignty, and even Panama Canal funds that revert to the Panamanian state,” Jaén declared in a video recorded in front of the Attorney General’s Office and published on his personal X account.

Article 431 of the Penal Code states that “Anyone who is entrusted by the government of the Republic with conducting business in Panama with a foreign government or company and who betrays his mandate in a manner detrimental to the public interest shall be punished with imprisonment of two to six years.”

On April 8, a press release published in English announced that the Panamanian minister and the U.S. Secretary of Defense signed a declaration on the security and operation of the Panama Canal. This declaration addressed the transit of U.S. vessels through the waterway, announcing the “beginning of a process to establish mechanisms to ensure that this transit is carried out under cost-neutral conditions.”

The opportunity to “maintain the Canal’s national security interests” was also recognized, with a commitment to promote bilateral cooperation on security and interoperability issues, including increased U.S. assistance to Panama in cybersecurity and telecommunications.

On Friday, May 2, Icaza published the document in English on social media, along with a video of an interview with him on the subject. He thus responded to criticism from the Sal de las Redes group, which called for the document’s publication.

“Why are you hiding the fact that I communicated the Declaration transparently on April 9th, that is, almost a month ago, as seen in this video?” the minister questioned. “Playing with the Panama Canal to play politics is dangerous for the country. I not only went to the newspaper La Prensa but also to two television stations, and the ACP also issued a statement. We are transparent, and we reject any type of manipulation,” he concluded.