
By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - On Tuesday, 31 August 2010, I filed an eleven-page formal complaint in San Jose, Costa Rica, before the Fiscalia Adjunta Contra El Crimen Organizado (Deputy Prosecutor Against Organized Crime), against William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese for the homicide of Jeffery Arlan Kline (and others). The situation on the ground in Costa Rica was basically the same as it was here in Panama in early July 2010. Their Organization of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) had some information in the case however none of that information had been passed to the prosecutors of the Public Ministry. In Panama in late June and early July, the DIJ had the missing persons reports for Cher Hughes and Bo Icelar, however they never passed any information to the prosecutors of the Public Ministry, and a formal investigation wasn't opened until I met with the Assistant to the Attorney General Neftali Jaen and brought it to his attention on 7 July 2010. So, the situation in Costa Rica is basically an exact repeat of what happened in Panama. As of Tuesday, 31 August 2010, the prosecutors of the Public Ministry in San Jose, Costa Rica have now formally and officially opened an investigation into the murder of American lawyer Jeffery A. Kline (and others), with William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese as the primary suspects, based on my complaint and the information I have gathered as a result of my investigation into these events. (more) Click Here To Read The Full Article (2,763 words)







Representatives of the Petaquilla Gold Mine rejected the arguments made by farmers and environmentalists about alleged pollution in the Coclesito river, and to prove it they bathed in the river, and they even drank the water directly from the river. Carlos Salazar, in the presence of the media, bathed in the river together with his son and public relations representative Fernando Rodriguez. "They accuse Petaquilla of having polluted the rivers, mainly the Coclesito, without scientific evidence - they alarm the people and then later interview them," said Salazar. He said the mining company has not used seven tons of cyanide, nor are they destroying water sources in the region, as the environmentalists accuse. He explained that in the operational phase they have taken advantage of the high levels of rainfall, which have increased the water levels in the holding tanks, and to say that the water was spilled is not true.


Uncertainty continues for tomorrow. The companies who own the Northern and Southern Corridors are in negotiations to prevent workers from walking out on strike tomorrow. Oscar Delgado, the Director of Business Development for PYCSA Panama, reported that over the weekend they are holding meetings with workers representatives, in order to keep the strike from happening. At the time of this writing the meetings are still being held, and according to Delgado they are "going well" although no agreement has yet been reached between the parties.
Just like a ball that bounces and extends, are the suspicions surrounding confessed murderer William Dathan Holbert, aka "Wild Bill" about his responsibility for other crimes. Coupled with the judicial process following him in Panama, now the first formal criminal complaint has been filed against "Wild Bill" in Costa Rica, a country whose authorities had never before confirmed the presence of the murderer. The complaint was filed before the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime, according to a report published on the

By DON WINNER for 
By Bill O’Reilly - ONE of the most underreported ongoing stories is the war in Mexico between the government and the drug cartels. More than 28,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 1996. Mexican drug merchants are even more deadly than al-Qaida. They have more firepower and more money and are just as willing to kill civilians. Yet, Americans know little about the chaotic situation south of the border. The reason: The drug cartels don’t seem to threaten us directly. But, they do. Illegal narcotics from Mexico wind up in almost every community in the United States. The FBI estimates that about 70 percent of crimes from coast to coast are drug-fueled.


The president, Ricardo Martinelli, yesterday gave the order for the rehabilitation and widening of the road from La Villa to Las Tablas. He also inspected from the intersection in Divisa and the city of Chitre, which includes construction of a bypass in the community of Santa Maria and the enlargement of the road to Chitre. The work will be approximately 44 kilometers long and is projected to take 30 months to complete, starting from the bridge crossing in Divisa until the intersection where the Fire Station is currency located in the community of Santa Maria, where two new lanes will be built on the left side of the existing roadway. Referring to the delivery of the order for the design, construction, rehabilitation, and widening of the road from Las Tablas to La Villa, the president explained that its length is approximately 26 kilometers, which will provide better communication between communities on the route from Divisa to Las Tablas, and in addition this project will ease traffic congestion which occurs at certain times of the year in the Azuero region. It is projected this project will take about two and a half years to complete. (La Estrella)
On Monday, workers for the Northern and Southern Corridors will go on strike, given the uncertainty they face regarding the purchase of both roadways by the Government. Abdiel Meneses, a member of the Corridor Workers' Union, said their strike will start at 6:00 am Monday morning, 5 September 2010, and it will continue indefinitely until the companies PYCSA and ICA Panama explain what the future holds for the workers. He added they would ask for workers to be compensated once the negotiations to buy the roadways are concluded. The government will buy the two roadways for $1.07 billion dollars, of which $970 million will be raised by issuing bonds. The form of payment will be $100 million dollars paid by the State through the National Highway Company (ENA); $200 million dollars will be raised through a bond offering to investors; $350 million will be acquired by PYCSA that will provide input as part of the Government of the transaction; $170 million will come from the Trust Fund of Panama (from the Panama Canal); and the government is proposing that the Social Security Fund buy $250 million in bonds to be placed on the Panama Stock Exchange, said De La Guardia. (Panama America)
By DON WINNER for
By DON WINNER for 
As of today, the work on the to expand the Panama Canal has been underway for three years, and thus far 13% of the project has been completed. The expansion of the waterway adds one more lane to the existing two. The main component of the expansion is the construction of new locks in the Pacific and Atlantic sectors. During the past three years work has been concentrated in the removal of dirt and dredged materials, and preparing for the construction of the third set of locks by GUPC. The new locks, the size of four football fields, will allow the transit of so-called post Panamax ships, with a capacity to carry 12,000 containers, three times more than the ships that currently fit through the Panama Canal. The ACP has established 21 October 2014 for the completion of the work for the main contract, the consortium United for Panama Canal (GUPC), which will be paid $215,000 for each additional day of early completion. (Panama America)


By DON WINNER for

The Chief of the Health Office of the Metropolitan Region (Panama City) has applied a $5,000 fine against the "Los Faros" real estate project located in Punta Paitilla, in the area of San Francisco. The project, which remains under construction, has become a breeding ground for the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, vectors of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Health officials took samples of the larvae found in the collected rainwater and sprayed around the structure. (La Prensa)

