#Panama - The former Foreign Minister and Vice President, Juan Carlos Varela, confirmed yesterday that president Ricardo Martinelli asked him three times to appoint Valter Lavitola as an honorary consul in Rome, Italy. "I refused to sign the appointment and he [Martinelli] gave me verbal instructions twice, and once he did it in writing," said Varela. Lavítola is a fugitive from Italian justice, accused of the crime of extortion. The Vice President said if he had been named, Lavitola would have had diplomatic immunity. "Despite the pressures to sign the appointment, luckily and for the good of the country we could stop it in time," said Varela. He pointed out that Martinelli's private secretary, Adolfo De Obarrio Jr., managed the appointment of Lavitola in the Foreign Ministry and Martinelli knew this. The president, Ricardo Martinelli, from London where he is on an official visit, said he does not recall having made that request to Varela, who said he (Varela) is trying to divert attention from the use of money from notary public to finance the Panameñista political party, and from his verbal offense against the Deputy Minister of the Presidency in charge, Lucia Chandeck. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Whoops. The "I do not recall" defense, that's usually bad. Varela said Martinelli pressured him to appoint Lavitola as a consul in Rome on three occasions, once in writing. I bet Varela can produce the written one, so if he does there goes the "I don't recall" defense, so it probably happened. This "tit for tat" between Martinelli and Varela is going to continue, with each one pulling out yet another scandal or act of corruption a day. Yesterday the Cambio Democratico fed the story about the Panameñista party sucking money out of three the offices of three notary public's, and today Varela counters with this Lavitola thing. Mahatma Gandhi said "an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye ... ends in making everybody blind." Well in this case, it ends in all of these politicians being unemployed, the PRD back in charge of the country, and the Attorney General investigating all of them. In about five to ten years.

#Panama - Nine days before the Public Registry was to register the marginal domain limitation (lot boundaries) ordered by the National Land Authority (Anati) on the 14 parcels of land created after the titles were issued for land in Juan Hombrón, there were three new "sales." The last land transfers, formalized on 31 October 2011, left in evidence a singular fact: the lawyers and spouses Luis Alberto Fonseca and Joavana Robles appear as the subscribers of three companies who owned ten of the fourteen parcels granted for free by the former director of Land Titles of the ANATI, Anabelle Villamonte. These 10 farms, representing 36.8 of the 54 hectares transferred at no cost, now belong to the companies Trapp Real Estate Corp., Homrom Empresas de Inversiones, S.A. and Laufen Holding Corporation, all subscribed by Fonseca and Robles. As in all of the cases of prior "sales," the latter transactions were granted based on the tax value assigned at the time by Villamonte. The lawyers Fonseca Robles are part, from the beginning of the process, of the network of corporations that achieved rapid recognition of rights of possession on the beach in Juan Hombrón. They have never wanted to talk to this newspaper. (Prensa)

The notaries are one of the "spoils" distributed by politicians each time a new government comes to power. Although notaries by professional ethics should not to participate in politics, in reality most are named thanks to their proximity to the Executive on duty. That happened in 2009, when Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela came to power. In the deal, the political party of the Vice President - the Panameñistas - was to appoint several notaries, and he decided to appoint party members and people in whom he had confidence. Other notaries were in the hands of Democratic Change.

The notaries imply money and power. Thus, it seems, is how it was understood by the Panameñista party, presided over by Vice President Varela, who since joining the government created a structure in the shadows to divert money from the notaries to members of this political party. It was a network that diverted thousands of dollars using the operations of several notaries to obtain funds in an allegedly irregular manner, with the aim of financing the Panameñista party, to pay bonuses and to deliver cash to party members. All of this with money from the notaries appointed by Varela.

Panama America obtained a series of documents, checks and receipts that revealed these actions. They were delivered by the notaries of Los Santos, Zairo Moreno Vega; of Colón, Nedelka Krupskala Navas, and of Coclé, Paula María González. Apart from submitting documents (as proof or evidence), the trio of notaries explained how the network that diverted the money functioned.

According to statements of the three notaries, the person responsible for collecting and managing the money that was discounted from them in an irregular manner was the lawyer lawyer Fatima De La Guardia. De La Guardia presented herself as having been sent by one of the private secretaries of the Vice President and President of the Panameñista political party. So that they would receive her, the secretary himself called the notaries, or he would accompany her. To any question or complaint - according to the three notaries - De La Guardia would only reply: "these are orders from above."

Part of the funding structure of the Panameñista party revolved around two corporations: Servicios Notariales y Administrativos and Panamá Best Realtors Corp. Notaries would have to make most of the deposits to a bank account in the name of the company Servicios Notariales y Administrativos. That company was incorporated, according to the Public Registry, on 3 May 2010, during the time that Varela was in power. Its resident agent is Heidi Navarro de Guadamuz. The board is composed of Wilberto Castillo Jara (Chairman), José Ávila (treasurer) and Olegario Ibarra Guerra (secretary).

According to the notary Gonzalez of Cocle, De La Guardia was the "manager" of the corporation Servicios Notariales y Administrativos. "She audited us every month and she told us the amount we had to give back through the bank account held by this company," explained the notary Gonzalez. The notary Navas, from Colon, confirmed that De La Guardia was the person who was responsible for overseeing all contributions that were cut from their revenue, about $4,000 per month. According to a receipt provided by Gonzalez, payment to the corporation for "legal advice" ($3,000). Gonzalez said no such advice was ever received.

But that was not the only corporation used to divert funds. Another of the companies used was Panama Best Realtors Corp. That company is treasurer Wilberto Castillo, who in company Servicios Notariales y Administrativos held the office of president. In the case of Panama Best Realtors Corp., the president of the company is De La Guardia, according to the Public Registry. The latter company billed the notary Gonzalez, from Cocle, three thousand dollars per month "for business advice" said the notary, who also presented the receipt of payment.

Who is De La Guardia? Who is the lawyer who appeared in the notary to audit them acting on orders from above? The lawyer who "audited" the notaries - according to the three notaries themselves - is not a lawyer anymore, but she has close links with one of the people of Varela's "inner circle" - one of his private secretaries.

This newspaper tried to contact De La Guardia but she did not answer the repeated calls made to her.

In several interviews with this newspaper (the Panama America), the three notaries who were appointed by the Panameñista party said that while the party remained as part of the government coalition they did not dare to report the matter for fear of losing their jobs. However, now that political pressure no longer exists - they said - and they decided to disclose what was going on. This is how they came to submit to this newspaper (the Panama America) a series of documents, receipts and checks drawn in favor of Varela's political party. The receipts even detailed that they paid outstanding debts of the last electoral campaign (2009) of the Vice President.

With the funds deviated from the notaries all kinds of payments and political donations were made, some in the name of the Panameñista party and others on behalf of Varela, according to the hundreds of receipts submitted by the three notaries. In some, for example, the notary Moreno of Los Santos, paid thousands of dollars to party members and supporters of the Vice President for Christmas 2009. On receipts of the "gifts" it is clarified: "Christmas gift Varela - Moreno." The money was even used to pay the rent for the office space for the headquarters of the Panameñista party in the interior, their electricity bills, and even for boxes of rum and "seco" (alcohol) for "partisans". All of this is documented with receipts and vouchers.

In addition, the money from the notaries was used, according to checks provided by the notaries, to pay bonuses to governors and members of the National Directive of the Panameñista party. Some of these people received up to $40,000 in several checks, the product of the income of one of the notaries.

The Panama America newspaper contacted Varela and sent him a questionnaire, but as of press time it had not been answered.

"What could I do? They call me saying they had orders from above, and they told me to whom I had to give money from my income," said the notary Moreno, from Los Santos. The person responsible for talking to the various notaries, to ask for the contributions of funds, to coordinate the work of De La Guardia and to apply pressure, was a man close to Varela. A man who accompanies him in the sun and shade.

First Notary of Los Santos - The notary Zairo Moreno paid with money from the notary the rent for the headquarters of the Panameñista party in the province, gave money to party members, and even paid for radio spots for that group.

The First Notary of Colon - The notary Dedelka Navas, like her colleague of the Notary of Cocle, deposited money raised by her office into a bank account of the corporation Servicios Notariales y Administrativos.

First Notary of Cocle - The notary Paula Gonzalez deposited, for months, money raised by this notary to the bank account held by Servicios Notariales y Administrativos S.A. as well as to the account held by Panama Best Realtors. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: OK - the Panama America newspaper is being used by Ricardo Martinelli and the Cambio Democratico political party as a media outlet to get this kind of information on the street - so obviously there will be political bias in their reporting. They get the intelligence directly from government sources. In this case these three notaries were probably told that if they "came clean" and explained how the Varela camp was siphoning off money from their operations for political purposes, they could keep their jobs and continue to make a whole lot of money. And obviously if they refused they would be fired by Martinelli. When they divided up the pie at the start of the administration these three positions went to the Panameñista camp, however the appointments themselves were made by Martinelli, who simply appointed the people chosen by Varela. Now they just turned around to shoot in the other direction. Varela supporters will claim "bias" on the part of the Panama America newspaper but that does not mean the accusations are untrue. (Wait, double negative.) I guess it would be better to say that the accusations could very well be true, bias or not. And now of course the Cambio Democratic people will call for a full investigation on the part of the Attorney General and the Comptroller's office, and they will say the the "full weight of the law" should be applied to anyone found to be guilty of wrongdoing. Internal to the Panameñista party Varela's rivals are licking their chops, and the PRD guys are laughing at the antics of the amateurs. None of this is new - it's how business is done - but what is new is the fact that the alliance fell apart after only 26 months of what was supposed to be a 60 month run. The wheels fell off, and now we are seeing the underside of the bus. Martinelli has a vengeful streak, and he's going to hammer Varela and the Panameñistas into the ground. Notice the timing? He's in England right now, and I'm sure that's no coincidence, so he can play the "who, me?" card, like he always does when these kinds of things hit the press. Expect a whole lot more about this in the coming months. I think Martinelli wants to hammer Varela so hard he will be forced to resign.

Panama's Attorney General José Ayú Prado has brought charges for the alleged commission of an offense against public administration, in the mode of negligent embezzlement, against the former Director of ANATI, Anabelle Villamonte, in the investigation into the free granting of a parcel of land in Punta Paitilla, according to a source linked to the process. Given this, Ayú Prado cited Villamonte to appear tomorrow to be questioned in this case that started last September. So far the former Director of the Tax Office Benjamin Colamarco and the Governor of Panama Mayín Correa have been called to testify, among others. Colamarco said in his statement that during his tenure he denied a request to grant this land to Cesar Segura in 2005, based on the Constitution, because it was a landfill property owned by the nation next to the sea, which makes it inadjudicable. For her part, Governor Correa said in her statement that this area was created during her administration as Mayor of Panama City in 1997, and the space was to be used to build a park. Because of this scandal, Villamonte resigned as director of the Anati. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Villamonte was not actually the Director of ANATI, but rather the director of the office within the ANATI responsible for the granting of land titles.

#Panama - "I have no maritime business with the AMP nor do I care to have it. Thank God my possessions are known, and it is known where they come from. I have nothing to hide." The administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), Roberto Linares, yesterday decided to break his silence on alleged irregularities in the approved maritime training centers, noting that behind the complaint there was pressure from Vice President Juan Carlos Varela, who claimed (he was doing) "favors" for a private company. In an interview with this medium (the Panama America newspaper), Linares said he has received insistent requests with "threats" (for him) to expedite the approval of private businesses that have not yet reached their stage of proceedings. And that, as a result of this, they have tried to link him with the company Orion Maritime Training Center. And what's more, he denounces that he has been "harassed" to get him to clarify how he has built his residence in David, Chiriquí.

What is happening with these sailor training centers? This is a pilot program. When we entered the AMP there were three authorized centers. One was Panamá Maritime Training Center, (owned by) Fotis Taquis. The other was the Panamá Maritime Training Services Inc., owned by Santiago Torrijos. The third was the Maritime Training and Certification Center, whose owners were also part of the Torrijos family.

So only these three companies had all of he business? There are about 25 marine training centers in Panama, but only those three were authorized by the Board of Directors of the AMP. Two of them were stripped of their authorization because of several anomalies that were found, and the other company because it never became operational, which is Panama Maritime Training Center.

Who provides the service now? In the midst of these adjustments the Orion Maritime Training Center, owned by Jorge Ramirez applied. They filed their request, we made all of the inspections, and they were approved.

Do you have links to Orion? I don't have any links with Orion. When I started the transition in the AMP, I met Jorge Ramirez and often asked for his advice, just as I did with Juan David Morgan, and all who are involved in the sector. I still do.

But does Orion have exclusive rights today? Here at the AMP there is no exclusivity. Not for an operating license nor for anything. Orion so far is the only company that is authorized because it met all the requirements. Before there were three, but they were stripped of authorization with justification, after anomalies were discovered in their dealings. The pilot program continues, but in order to be licensed (a company) must meet all requirements and submit to monitoring by the AMP.

Are there new applications? Ramón Fonseca Mora, the Vice President of the Panameñista political party and former adviser to the president, also asked for authorization for a series of courses.

What about this pending case of Fonseca Mora? On the way back from a trip to London, on 29 May, with President Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, vice president approached me and told me I had to approve Fonseca Mora's request because if not, he would go to the television stations to attack the government.

How did the Vice President raise this? When we got to the hangar after the trip, Varela said to me "Robert, remember you have to give that (approval) to Fonseca Mora already, because he helped me a lot in the campaign, he lent me his airplane, gave me gas, and I cannot say no. Besides that if you don't give it to him, tomorrow morning he will be on television." I do not know if Fonseca Mora has an airplane, I am repeating what the Vice President said to me. I don't even know him (Fonseca Mora) nor do I care to meet him.

What did you tell Varela? I told him it was under evaluation. What's more, it has not been denied even to this date.

What happened after the request? The next day Fonseca Mora was indeed on television speaking ill of the government and President Martinelli.

And the pressures that followed? Several publications have already questioned the certification of seafarers. Also, this week I was called by La Estrella of Panama to ask about the training centers, but they also asked about the costs of my home in Chiriqui. What's more they even calculated that my residence is worth a million dollars. Here it is clear that what they want is to link me to Orion.

How and when did you build your house? I started building my house way before the 2009 elections, before the Democratic Change even dreamed of winning the Presidency of the Republic. I called Eduardo Quirós, the president of La Estrella de Panama, to claim this, and to tell him it was a risk to send a reporter to my home in David to investigate the color and location, because I have family. If Quiros wants to know about the inside of my house, I would remind him that on 19 March Aldolfo Valderrama and his brother Luis Eduardo Quirós visited it.

So, according to you, there is another front against you? It's very curious that the president of La Estrella de Panama makes these comments about my house, and tries to link me to a company with which I have nothing to do. This attack may be because in Colon, next to the illegal landfill in the Manzanillo Bay, there is another parcel of state owned land where the Waked family is asking for a concession for a full marina, that has not been authorized yet. Coincidentally it's about Waken, the owners of La Estrella de Panama. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Hoo boy. Where to start. OK, so there were three companies all with links to the Torrijos family that had these exclusive contracts (graft, corruption, influence peddling.) Then as soon as the CD takes over they suddenly discovered "irregularities" - which were used to shut down their access (abuse of authority mixed with political retribution.) Vice President Varela then pushes the Director of the AMP to approve a contract for someone who donated money and lent him an airplane (direct conflict of interest, influence peddling.) And now the Waked family is supposedly or allegedly using their La Estrella newspaper to attack Linares because he won't approve their marina deal in Colon. Did you follow all of that? In one article they managed to sum up the corruption rampant in all three of the primary political parties. I got you elected so go get me that deal. It's all in the family so if my business deal doesn't get approved, then I'll attack through my newspaper. Can anyone in this country even spell "ethics"? The whip-lash effect of having Juan Carlos Varela on the team one minute and then playing for the other team the next is startling - the ultimate insider. And I still feel like I need a program to keep up with the who's who, what's on first, etc. At least it stays interesting.

#Panama - The multi million dollar contracts Panama signed with Italian companies to supply safety equipment all have one name in common - Valter Lavitola. But the transaction hides another raw data. One contract involves the payment of $89 million dollars more than what has been paid by other countries for similar coastal surveillance radar. The name of Lavitola once again emerges in the midst of a scandal. (Estrella) (Lead, On Cover)

The relations of Valter Lavitola with Panama were consolidated after the signing of a Cooperation Agreement with the Italian government. Lavitola was the architect of this contract which achieved a significant advantage: it gave Finmeccanica, the Italian company for which he worked, a direct contract worth $333 million dollars with the Panamanian government. There were three contracts with three companies, all subsidiaries of Finmeccanica - Augusta S.p.A., Selex Sistemi Integrati and Telespazio Argentina S.A. (more)

#Panama - Some 31 state-owned vehicles were seized during the first 24 hours of an operation mounted by the Comptroller General of the Republic, with the aim of ensuring the proper use of the property. Through yesterday, the auditors had conducted 487 revisions in almost all provinces, except for the Darien. The most were made in the area of Panama City with 90, followed by Chiriquí with 66. The 31 vehicles were seized because the persons who were operating them did not have the proper permits and passes, or they were poorly done. Other vehicles had expired tags. Executive Decree No. 124 of 1996 regulates the use of state owned vehicles. Still, some ignore and violate the law. According to the Directorate of Audits of the Comptroller's office, the details and information about the offenders will be sent to their respective institutions to be punished. The operations will continue until the patriotic celebrations in early November are finished. (Siglo)

Editor's Comment: OK, if they checked a total of 487 state owned vehicles during this operation, and of those 31 were found to be violating the law in one way or another, that's a 6.3% infraction rate. I would like to see the Comptroller's office publish a complete and comprehensive list of all those who were caught, by name and entity, because that would be full transparency. However, that's not how things are done in Panama. The Comptroller will send the list to the Minister, and then that person will protect their mother's cousin's sister-in-law's best friend from any harm. This constant lack of transparency perpetuates the culture of corruption that has existed in Panama for centuries. Not much "Democratic Change" there, eh?

#Panama - President Ricardo Martinelli announced on his Twitter account that the land titled in Juan Hombrón in the province of Cocle will be returned to its original state. Martinelli explained through the social network this measure was approved today and that the lands will become the property of the State. Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a motion by the Minister of Housing and Land Management, José Domingo Arias, acting chairman of the Lands Advisory Board to this entity, requesting and investigation of the ANATI land titling process, on the lands delivered in the community of Juan Hombrón, in order to determine the validity of administrative acts that approved the issuance of such titles. The affirmative vote of the Cabinet endorses the initiative presented by the Minister of Housing, because it is a faculty of the Lands Advisory Council to automatically revoke or cancel an administrative act on which it can be presumed to be affected or involved a subjective right or a legitimate interest. This review of the procedures through which the land titles in Juan Hombron were delivered, - explained Minister Arias - will determine the validity of the documents which would allow the revocation of the certificates. The President of the Lands Advisory Board presented the draft resolution on Friday October 28 to the Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu, in his capacity as general secretary of the Cabinet Council. This review will be independent of the investigations initiated by the Comptroller General's Office and the Public Ministry. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: So, the land titles were issued in an irregular manner - meaning, corruption. The land will now be returned to the State. The people who were involved have since resigned (or been fired). And now the Cabinet has approved their own investigation, to add to those being conducted by the Public Ministry and the Comptroller's Office. Yeah, no doubt - whoever stood to benefit from this deal was not in the Cambio Democratico political party, that's for sure. I'm pretty sure I can smell a Panameñista loin roast slowly turning over the spit... And another word about bias in the media - this afternoon both the La Prensa newspaper and the Panama America picked up this piece. In La Prensa it was reported as "Vice President Varela insists that the land in Juan Hombron be returned to the state." The La Prensa newspaper is 100% Panameñista, so they tweak and twist the story to make it look like it was all Varela's doing. Meanwhile the Panama America newspaper - favorable to the CD and Martinelli - reported the same news but giving all of the credit to the apparently very responsible Cabinet Council. Sometimes I spend most of my time trying to figure out who is spinning what which way and why...

The insecurity in Panama not only affects ordinary citizens. Politicians are also the targets for criminals. In 2010, in a confusing incident that has only come to light in recent days, the National Assembly Deputy from the Partido Revolucionario Democratico (PRD), Yassir Purcait, was about to fall into a trap laid for him by people around him - one of his political associates who has been identified by the authorities - with criminals. The goal? To steal about $250,000 dollars in cash Purcait was allegedly about to receive from a company that was working with the now-defunct Social Investment Fund (FIS), which has now been renamed the National Assistance Program (PAN).

According to information leaked to the Panama America newspaper (see note) by a member of State intelligence, on 11 November 2010 Purcait became "a potential target for a group of organized criminals (thieves)," who had planned to give a blow to the deputy by stealing a substantial sum of cash. The crime was foiled, according to confidential information, because two of the members of this criminal band were being monitored as part of another investigation by a team of local intelligence operatives. As a result of the wiretaps authorized which had been duly authorized by the Justice department, the details regarding the alleged theft of the money from Purcait was uncovered by chance. The operation was never prosecuted, even though the protagonist is a Deputy in the National Assembly.

The Panama America consulted with the Public Ministry to see if there is an open investigation into this frustrated theft, and the response was negative. Similarly, the Supreme Court of Justice reported there was never an investigation opened against the Deputy who was involved in the plan. There are no files or documents on the incident within the National Police.

This contradicts the intelligence report obtained by the Panama America, and with statements made by Purcait and the National Assembly Deputy from the Cambio Democratic political party, José Muñoz.

According to the document obtained by the Panama America, the criminals were planning to wait for Purcait outside of the businesses owned by Martín López, located in the Los Pueblos shopping center. Those companies were related to a multi million dollar embezzlement from the now-defunct FIS, for alleged fictitious purchases. Supposedly, Purcait was going to receive $250,000 dollars in cash from the company owned by Lopez, according to the intelligence report accessed by the Panama America. Lopez now - after the FIS scandal - has other companies (Suplidora 2000, Global Business and Lidmar, among others) and he remains the main supplier of purchases made by the Deputies in the National Assembly, from both the ruling Cambio Democratico party as well as the opposition PRD and Panameñistas - using the funds they receive from the PAN program.

In the planned action against Purcait, none of the people involved in the alleged "theft" were arrested, because they were blocked by a strong police operation involving the "Lince" (motorcycle) police, as well as other security elements who responded to the scene to prevent the consummation of the trap laid by the criminals.

Yesterday Purcait said "I've never been warned about any attempted robbery against me." But then later he added that "once I was summoned to the office of President Ricardo Martinelli, who, through an emissary claimed to have evidence about the intentions of a criminal gang who wanted to kidnap me." Purcait said he went to the appointment and there Martinelli "made me listen to a recording of a cellular telephone conversation, in which a stranger gave instructions to a person who seemed to be the ringleader of a criminal gang, supposedly to follow me, to intercept my vehicle, and to submit me by force if necessary." Purcait said after listing to the recording, "and thanking the president for his gesture," he had "several concerns" in on his mind. The first, he said, was that the situation seemed to be something that was "mounted" in order to intimidate him, and the second, he saw how the president boasted of his ability to intervene and listen to telephone conversations.

The "emissary" referred to by Deputy Purcait was the CD Deputy José Muñoz, as he himself admitted. When we asked Muñoz, he confirmed that he had in fact met with Purcait and Martinelli. "The president, upon learning about the crime being planned against the Deputy (Purcait), asked me to alert him and I made myself available, because of the importance of his position," said Muñoz. According to Munoz, Purcait accepted he was in fact going to receive the money in cash from the business owned by Martín López. "The surveillance authorized by the Justice Department was against against some criminals, and in one of the conversations Purcait's name appeared, so therefore we warned him in order to help him," said Muñoz. "We told him that what we were monitoring was a mafia, not him personally, but his name appeared on the tape," said Muñoz. Once the meeting was over, according to Munoz, Purcait thanked Martinelli for "saving his life" and he promised he would "not mess with him."

Purcait, meanwhile, gave another version: "When I left the meeting, I pondered whether or not to make public the threat against me revealed by the president, but I decided against it because in the end would be my word against theirs." Purcait now asks for the Public Ministry to open an investigation. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Wow. This is a virtual smorgasbord of graft and corruption. There's so much in here that I almost don't know where to start. Let's start with bias. First of all you should know that the Panama America newspaper with the "most friendly" media outlet to the sitting government of Ricardo Martinelli, after the breakup of their alliance with the Panameñista party last August. This was "leaked" to the Panama America specifically and precisely because the administration of Ricardo Martinelli wants it in the press. We're reading this story and talking about it, because they have obvious political motivations for getting it out there, as you'll see.

Why Was Purcait Getting $250,000 In Cash? Forget the fact that someone was going to steal it from him for a minute - why was this lawmaker going to a store in the Los Pueblos shopping center to pick up a back full of cash? Yassir Purcait is a Deputy in the National Assembly and a member of the Partido Revolucionario Democratico (PRD) political party. Martín López is apparently a businessman who does a lot of "business" with the National Assembly. They spend the government funds they receive through the National Assistance Program (PAN) with his companies. And he - apparently - simply launders the money, provides the paperwork to make it all look legitimate, and then provides the kickbacks to the Deputies. And even though this same man was involved in an earlier scandal when the "PAN" was called the "FIS" - he's still in business. Well, at least he was until today.

Who's The Other Deputy Involved? In Panama when one crook or drug trafficker steals from another, the very used to describe that theft is "tumbar" (to knock down). This expression is most commonly used when one group of criminals is trying to steal either the drugs or money from another group - usually related to drug trafficking. The victims can't complain because "those guys stole my cocaine" usually doesn't fly very well with the cops. However, the victims do, in fact, normally provide "tips" to the police and that's how a lot of drug busts materialize. In this case the alleged plot is being described as a "tumba" because the criminals were going to steal the hefty (illegal) bribe or kickback from the congressman. How cool is that? And who knew about this? Who was the other lawmaker who was supposedly on the tape held by Ricardo Martinelli, the one who was ordering the action against Purcait? Its' not revealed in this story. But you can bet all of those involved know - and I'll bet lunch it was someone in the Panameñista party. Just a hunch - because it would be perfect press for Martinelli to have one corrupt opposition lawmaker planning to steal the bribes from another one. I mean, that's perfect from Martinelli's point of view. Literally, it could not get any better.

Who Investigates This Crap? The Supreme Court is supposed to investigate the Deputies of the National Assembly. However, they have been locking in a sort of "Mutual Assured Destruction" stand-off for decades. The National Assembly has the legal authority under the Constitution to investigate the Supreme Court Justices, and the Supreme Court has the authority to investigate the Deputies. There are standing and open complaints all around, and no one ever does anything. Like, if you investigate my guy, then we will investigate you - like that. So, the only thing that's worth anything here is politics and headlines. The "opposition" has been kicking Ricardo Martinelli in the shins for weeks over this Juan Hombron deal, and now he's kicking back. Man, someone pass the popcorn, it's going to get good...

#Panama - A group of rice farmers in the province of Cocle, consisting of Omar Jimenez, Mauricio Burrugana, Enrique Meneses and William Vega, today reported on the channel 2 TVN morning news broadcast that the government has granted a title for $800 dollars for a piece of land with a lake that was built in the early 1970's to be used for an irrigation system. Omar Jimenez explained that over the past 30 years the government has invested more than $20 million dollars to build the irrigation system, but in 2007 the lands with the lake were ceded for $800 dollars to build a residential development project. Jimenez said this is another robbery of the resources of the Nation, which should be investigated. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: Hmm. 2007. That would be PRD and Martin Torrijos. Yup, I'm sure the administration of Ricardo Martinelli would he glad to investigate that one. Now that the PRD and the Panameñistas are on the outside looking in, they are trying to find ways to pitch as many stones as possible at the CD. However, as with this case, the CD is sending back a message saying that they should be careful, because this county was run for 50 years by both the PRD and Panameñistas, and there are more than enough old skeletons in the closet on both parties to haul out and discuss, investigate, and explore in the press. File this under "two can play that game." And why do you think these rice farmers decided to turn up on television today? There are no coincidences.

A criminal complaint and a disciplinary complaint were filed against the anti drug prosecutor responsible for the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos, Marquel Mora, for the alleged commission of the crimes of abuse of authority and forgery (falsification of documents.) The defense lawyer representing three detainees who have been charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit a crime, reported that (the prosecutor) fraudulently introduced several resolutions into the case file about searches that were conducted, supposedly without authorization. (TVN)

#Panama - Panama's "Defensor del Pueblo" (Human Rights Ombudsman) has declared Guillermo Sáez-Llorens, the Director of the Social Security Fund, as a "hostile and difficult official" due to his failure to cooperate to find a solution to a labor dispute with one of his employees. The specific case is in the delay in the reinstatement of Mr. Juan Samaniego to his job. When Sáez-Llorens entered the CSS, Samaniego worked in the area of Professional Risk. After an exchange of words between them, according to sources, Sáez-Llorens fired him for alleged lack of respect. The Board of Directors of the CSS investigated the case and ruled in favor of Samaniego, but to date the former official remains unemployed. Given the refusal, the Ombudsman's Office sent a copy of Resolution No. 2111c-11 to the Board of Directors of the CSS to inform them that they are planning for a meeting between the Ombudsman Patria Portugal and the Board of Directors. The classification of Sáez-Llorens as "hostile and difficult" comes at a time when the CSS is facing a health crisis due to the spread of cases of people colonized with the bacteria KPC. (Siglo)

Guillermo Sáez-Llorens is the Director of the Social Security Fund in Panama

#Panama - Seven out of 10 Panamanians believe the National Authority of Land Management (Anati) benefits those who want to do business with state land, and not the humble farmers or villagers. This is evidenced by the recent survey of Unimer, made at the request of La Prensa, conducted between 13 to 16 October 2011, in which 1,202 people were interviewed around the country, excluding the comarcas of the Darien Indians. Almost 90% of respondents believed it necessary to review all of the titles ANATI has issued since it began its functions, and whose first manager was Alejandro Castillero. The survey - which has a margin of error of + / - 2.8% - was made after the case of the titling of land in Punta Paitilla came to public light, but before the details and links regarding the titling of 54 hectares of land in Juan Hombrón, in the province of Cocle, authorized by the former Director of Land Titling of the ANATI Anabelle Villamonte, were disclosed. The revelations published in this newspaper (La Prensa) led to the resignation of Villamonte and Castillero. Yesterday the Attorney General Jose Ayú Prado said they have opened three investigations: one on the case of the land titling in Paitilla, and two on the land titling in Juan Hombrón. The three cases are being handled by his office directly. (Prensa)

Pocri, Los Santos - Panama's Attorney General Jose Ayú Prado, confirmed Friday that two investigations have been opened in the case of titles for properties in the area of ​Juan Hombrón, province of Cocle. According Ayú Prado, one investigation an official internal investigation and the other is for a particular instance (in response to a private complaint.) The Attorney General said every day they are working hard on this issue. He explained that the Attorney General's office is sending out official requests for information. In that sense, he warned that if the information he's seeking is not sent, then they will go to get it to put it in the file. Ayú Prado's statement came at the opening of new offices of the Public Ministry in the Municipality of Pocrí. (Prensa)

#Panama - The Deputy Minister of the Presidency, Maria Fabrega, spoke Friday about the controversy over irregularities in the titling of lands in the country. Regarding the questions that have been made, Fabrega said "the authorities shall investigate them." While speaking on the channel 2 TVN morning news, Fabrega said "we have shown that every time there have been situations that might raise some doubt, the government (of Ricardo Martinelli) is the first to call for investigations to be made." Fabrega said she feels "we have strayed from the fundamental principle, that is the right to title land, and the legitimacy of the individuals as the rightful owner."

With this, the official defended the issuance of these titles, which she added as a campaign promise of President, Ricardo Martinelli. She said land titles serve as a guarantee to both Panamanians and foreigners. Having a title for your land helps to remove the ability for speculation based on fraud, the deputy minister added. She added that those land owners who have titled lands have greater access to credit and a better life. "The rights granted by a land title prevents them from abusing it," said the official.

She also said there are a large number of applications for titles on various parcels of land in the Tax Office of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, "precisely because of the delays in titling land over the past 20 years." "I do believe that we must be clear in what we defend, and what is worrying is the existence of a legitimate title," she said.

About the request to change the laws governing this issue, the Deputy Minister said: everything can be improved. Meanwhile, several sectors of Panamanian society have asked the Attorney General to begin an investigation into the issuance of land titles on 54 hectares of land in Juan Hombrón, beachfront property in the province of Cocle, exposed by La Prensa in various publications. (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Once again, practically everyone in the CD camp is now actively calling for an investigation of the land titling scandal in Juan Hombron. That tells the people involved in this, if anything bad or illegal did happen, are most likely from the Panameñista political party. They never call for an investigation if they are going to get in trouble themselves. Expect more on this, and if my suspicions are right, it's going to be funny to see how the (Panameñista friendly) La Prensa newspaper - which has been driving the reporting on this issue - will cover it. It has been speculated that a former Panameñista minister who resigned after the alliance broke up was behind all of this.

The President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, asked the Public Ministry and the Comptroller of the Republic to initiate investigations into alleged irregularities that occurred during the process of land titling in Juan Hombrón, province of Cocle. The president said he has no possessory title either directly or indirectly. "I want this to be investigated and to come to the final consequences, whoever responsible should fall," he said. He said he "will not be muddied due to the outside acts of anyone." Martinelli pointed out that something as good as titling land for poor Panamanians should not be demonized. (Critica)

#Panama - The Second Criminal Court of La Chorrera sentenced the former Prosecutor of the Second Circuit of La Chorrera, Archimedes Sáez, to three years in prison for the crime of extortion. Saez was accused of taking 600.00 U.S. dollars to ease the conditions of detention of a woman who was being held in the jail at the former Judicial Technical Police (PTJ) in 2005. The hearing in this case was held on Friday October 14 in the Second Criminal Court of La Chorrera. After hearing the news, Sáez lawyers announced they would appeal the decision. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: This is the guy who extorted money out of the family members of a woman who was being held in a jail cell in La Chorrera. The Attorney General at the time, Ana Matilde Gomez, ordered wiretaps to investigate the allegations, which turned out to be true. No matter, the Supreme Court decided that the wiretaps were illegal, and they used that decision to get her out of office (Martinelli wanted her gone.) So now, the corrupt prosecutor who asked for the bribes, Archimedes Sáez, has been convicted to three years in prison. The Panamanian legal code for these kinds of crimes does not allow for the sentence to be commuted to a fine - so it's hard time behind bars. His lawyers will appeal the decision. Anyway, score one in the anti-corruption bracket, even if it was a politicized case that cost the Attorney General her job. Hey, if it wasn't this one, they would have used something else to get her out of the way.

#Panama - Since last October 12, the Office of the Comptroller General started and official audit of the land titles issued by the National Authority of Land Management. The Comptroller Gioconda de Bianchini clarified this today, Wednesday, 19 October 2011, who said as part of the proceedings today members of her staff would go to inspect the sites in question, referring to the beach areas of Juan Hombrón in Cocle. Bianchini said the audit being conducted covers not only the granting of land titles, but also the general administration of the ANATI and all of the processes undertaken to date. (Telemetro)

Gioconda de Bianchini Is The Comptroller General of the Republic of Panama

Editor's Comment: Yeah, now I'm even more convinced. I bet in the end of the day the people behind this ANATI stuff are going to turn out to be Panameñistas. Just a hunch at this point. Let's see what happens. But it's funny that Martinelli called for a full investigation today, and now we learn the Comptroller actually started her investigation a full week ago, on Wednesday, 12 October 2011.

#Panama - The President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, asked on Wednesday for a thorough investigation of all reported cases in which irregularities have been alleged in the titling of land. During an official event, Martinelli said the full weight of the law should be applied against anyone involved in these situations. This should apply both to individuals and corporations, said the Panamanian ruler. The President said further he would neither sponsor nor defend anyone who is behind these anomalies. Therefore, he said he hopes the Comptroller General of the Republic - the entity which he requested to conduct an audit of the titles awarded - to do their job. "I want this to be resolved," he said. Martinelli made his statements during the act of the flooding of the first section of dry excavation as part of the expansion program of the Panama Canal. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Allow me to translate this for you. This means in fact there were most likely people from the Panameñista party behind all of this land titling crap. As such, Martinelli can have his cake and eat it too. Sure, let the press and public go nuts about allegations of irregularities in land titling. He calls for an in-depth investigation and audit, and at the end of the day the ones with their hands in the cookie jar are from another political party. Then Martinelli can turn to the cameras and say (dead pan), "I'm sure glad those dudes are gone..." No matter what, I'm glad to see Martinelli has dropped the strategy of trying to defend their actions. Investigate, audit, figure it out, and punish anyone who broke the law. It's pretty simple, really. Why blindly defend when you don't have all the facts? That's a losing strategy, no matter what.

#Panama - Given the recent scandals over allegations of corruption in the current government, members of civil society are calling upon the Attorney General Jose Ayú Prado to investigate, because he has not made a public statement with regards to any complaint. Attorney Carlos Herrera Moran told TVN News there is no government oversight body, because neither the Comptroller nor the Attorney General are doing their jobs. For his part, Rafael Chavarria of the National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO), said every day they are further undermining democracy and no one has any faith in the courts. Several people expressed in an opinion poll conducted by a team of TVN News, that the government covers the scandals with other news and ultimately the investigations are not being completed. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: And who appointed the Attorney General? And who appointed (his former accountant) as the Comptroller? And who will have appointed eight of the twelve sitting Supreme Court Justices? If they don't want it investigated, it's not going to be investigated. End. Next.

#Panama - Thirty fishermen, together with their lawyers, went today to the Public Ministry to file a complaint against the former Director of Titling of the National Land Authority (ANATI) Ababel Villamonte and another thirty people. According to the fishermen, the other thirty people who are not from their community posed as the owners of the lands that were titled to corporations, along the beachfront in Cocle, specifically in the area of Juan Hombrón, and they were legally directed by Villamonte. The fishermen who filed the complaint with the Public Ministry for the alleged commission of the crimes of corruption, forgery, and conspiracy to commit a crime, say they are the true owners of the 54 hectares of land in Juan Hombrón, and they are asking for justice. (Estrella)

Editor's Comment: Hoo boy. Now emerges this second set of people who claim they are supposedly the true and proper owners of the 54 hectares of land in question. At this point the whole thing will get elevated to an official investigation to sort it all out.

#Panama - The "pre-candidate" for the PRD, Balbina Herrera, says they (the government of Ricardo Martinelli) are violating Law 80 that created the National Land Authority (Anati) in 2010. According to Herrera, they are dividing the land into parcels smaller than 5 hectares in Juan Hombrón in order to provide free titles to corporations that were created in 2010. She said the former director of the Land Titling in the ANATI, Anabel Villamonte, is involved with the 12 corporations she represented in private practice. "What a coincidence that in less than a year, these 12 companies have received their title deeds, while fishermen who have been living in Juan Hombrón for more than 15 years still have not received this document," she said. Herrera during an interview on the channel 13 Telemetro morning news program asked the president, Ricardo Martinelli to investigate this case because not only have they "made mistakes, but they are also putting their hand into" the government pot.

For its part, ANATI adviser Solomon Shamah said that each of the corporations that have been granted land titles have met the requirements of the law. "If a person has a possessory right and they want to sell it to a corporation for security or some other reason there is no crime. The titles possessed by the fishermen are in the files. Based on these rights of possession, the fishermen banded together and created a company and later received their titles," he said. He reiterated that corporations are legal entities and they have the same rights as an individual. In Shamah's view (Herrera and others) are trying to make something that is not a sin into a sin. "The constitutional right of a person does not change if you are rich or poor," he said. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Shortly after this colorful exchange between Balbina Herrera and Salomon Shamah, the actual landowners appeared on Channel 13 Telemetro and explained what is going on. They said this whole thing has turned into something political, and for them it never was political but rather just a simple business deal. They have been submitting plans and paperwork in an attempt to get their titles approved since 2008. Apparently they (collectively) own individual parcels of land, each less than 5 hectares, but when you put it all together it comes to more than 50 hectares, all ocean front property. Apparently some developer approached them a long time ago with a deal - if you all work together to get your Rights of Possession property titled, then the developer would buy it for a set price per meter. These individuals, the people who have actually lived in the area for some 40 years, are the ones who created these Panamanian Corporations in order to better protect their deal and the rights within the contract. They are going to be making a large amount of money on the deal, so why not, it makes sense. So yes, the individual companies have recently been created, however the owners of the rights of possession behind those companies have held the land for years, and their ownership is legitimate. Now, once the land has been titled, they flip it over to the large buyer who really wants to develop the larger 50+ hectare parcel. I still have not heard who is behind this deal, but technically speaking, this is exactly what the new ANATI law is supposed to do. Small individual owners can get title, sell their land for what it's worth (safely and legally) and off you go. All of the huff and smoke and bluster is just more "gotcha" political reporting. And finally, watching Balbina Herrera try to score points on some kind of an anti-corruption agenda is mind boggling in terms of hypocrisy.

#Panama - "They're trying to put something under the magnifying glass that's completely legal." With those words summarized the manager of the Tourism Authority of Panama, who has served as advisor to the National Authority of Land Management (Anati), Salomon Shamah, his "personal" position in response to the investigation carried out by the La Prensa newspaper. The investigation notes the former Director of Land Titling of the Anati, Anabelle Villamonte Murgas, gave - for free - 54 hectares of ocean front property located in the community of Juan Hombrón, in the province of Coclé, to twelve corporations and two individuals who claimed to have rights of possession.

The investigation also revealed that Villamonte was the lawyer for the companies and then later (as an employee of ANATI) issued titles for the land, lots that turned out to be parallel and consecutive (side by side) to complete a 54.3 hectare parcel of uninterrupted land in an area where each square meter of land has a market value of between $150 to $250 dollars. Nine of the companies have already sold the newly titled land.

The Arguments From The Government: "It means that [a lawyer] has to give up the right to carry out processes with the state, because at any given moment (the person) who is now a director in the past worked as a lawyer for the company. Therefore, no one who is a lawyer can serve in posts of command and jurisdiction, or any position where your signature is needed for the approval of any process," said Shamah during an interview on the channel 2 TVN morning news broadcast.

And later he added: "Anabelle was a lawyer of for these companies and she resigned when she was named (to work for ) Cadastre." The government spokesman (Shamah) denied that the former official has been declared impaired in these titling processes (due to conflict of interest.) He also denied that anyone close to the government or the Cabinet has any interests in the titling of lands located in Juan Hombrón.

He argued that La Prensa has said many untruths: First, this is not real. Second, anyone, either rich or poor, from whatever area, from whatever economic status, has the same rights to be a land owner as anyone else. The law can not differentiate between whether you are a (government) Minister, if you're rich or poor, or if you're white ... That is not happening. But what happens if a person who is a minister or who is close to the government has rights of possession lands? Can this person title their lands? (Asked Shamah)

As for the possibility that several people can come to an agreement and then after they have been granted a free title, then later turn around and sell those properties at very high prices, Shamah said this is the spectacular part of this law, because what it does is distributes wealth. "If you have a right of possession, and then you obtain title on your land and then sell it for three million dollars, you become a millionaire overnight, and God Bless You," he said. Finally, Shamah said there is no difference between a peasant land owner who inherited land or a corporation. "(There is) no (difference). The social interest is there, titles are being issued to everyone. Why are you going to stop the owner who is a corporation?" (La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Anabelle Villamonte Murgas was the Director of Land Titling for the newly created Autoridad Nacional de Administración de Tierras (National Authority of Land Administration) (ANATI). She promptly resigned when the scandal over a parcel of land in Paitilla broke out a couple of months ago. There was a parcel of land in Paitilla that was supposed to be turned into a park, but it was given away (for free). Meaning, it started life as state lands, but then was passed to a private individual. Obviously, this person was going to sell it to someone else, who would then make millions of dollars by building a tower or something. In any case, Anabelle Villamonte resigned when the Paitilla scandal broke in the news. Now, over the past two days the La Prensa newspaper has published articles about more land titles issued by Anabelle Villamonte in the area of Juan Hombrón, in the province of Coclé, near Rio Hato. This is close to the Decameron resort and the place where the new International Airport is going to be built. Ocean front land worth millions upon millions of dollars to a developer. The law says any person who has rights of possession on land up to five hectares or less can be given the land for free. Meaning - free title from the government. In the case presented by La Prensa today, Anabelle Villamonte first served as the lawyer for a string of companies who presented documents to prove the existence of their rights of possession of these lands, and then she was appointed as the new Director of Titling for the ANATI. She basically approved her own requests. Titles were issued in record time, like six months. I personally have friends who have been trying to get land titled for years, with no success. And then here comes Saloman Shamah on television - to defend her actions. It's a blatant abuse of position and authority, and apparently the government has been making these sweetheart deals left and right, for the right people with the right connections. Listen - if someone gets caught doing something wrong you fire them (or let them resign) and then say you will be opening an investigation. And then move on. Coming out to defend a corrupt former government employee is a political mistake. But you know what? It's a mistake Ricardo Martinelli has repeated, time and time again. He's loyal to his followers. Even when he should cut them away, he sticks by their side, despite the political damage. Anyway, ANATI is the scandal of the week.

#Panama - By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - The political cartoon below that appeared in the El Siglo newspaper today caught my eye. The former Director of the PTJ Jaime Abad has been all over the press in the last couple of days, strongly criticizing the administration of Ricardo Martinelli over allegations of the existence of a sort of "call center" supposedly established by the former Secretary of State Communications, Alfredo Prieto. According to the allegations, Prieto set up a sort of media monitoring facility to actively watch the news and read the daily press, in an effort to pick out those stories and journalists who were regularly attacking or against the administration of Ricardo Martinelli. A hooded "source" - who appeared on the channel 2 morning news program but with his back turned to the camera and without identifying himself - says he worked at this facility for a year. Prieto said no one was paid and there was no contract. Martinelli basically said they were volunteers. This morning there's a strong rumor that the person making the denunciations is actually a member of the PRD, and all of this is being done for political reasons. Whatever - all of that is background to today's political cartoon in El Siglo. So the skinny dog - always used to represent the normal Panamanian on the street - asks Jaime Abad "Mr. Abad, you criticize Prieto's call center. And what do you tell me about those lawyers who defend the corrupt politicians - from whatever political party - who charge more than $300 dollars?" And then on Abad's briefcase there's a bumper sticker that say's "I Love Mireya."

Editor's Comment: Jaime Abad is closely associated with the former president Mireya Moscoso from the Panameñista political party. Just yesterday there were rumblings that Mireya Moscoso is thinking about coming back from the dead and launching a primary challenge against Juan Carlos Varela. There is a widespread belief that Mireya Moscoso was one of the most corrupt politicians in the history of the Republic. Jaime Abad was the Chief of the PTJ that investigated Pedro Miguel Gonzalez for the murder of the US Army Sergeant Zak Hernandez. He was later convicted of having concealed evidence in that trial and sentenced, then his conviction was pardoned by Ernesto Perez Balladares. However, the criminal conviction remains on his record and that's why the National Police recently denied his application for a weapons permit. Anyway, this political cartoon highlights the feelings and sentiments of many Panamanians when it comes to the public statements made by Jaime Abad. Where was he before 30 August 2011? Meaning, his Panameñista party was part of Martinelli's team before the alliance broke up, and now they are on the outside. Jaime Abad makes calls for members of Ricardo Martinelli's Cambio Democratico administration to be investigated, but (as the political cartoon points out) where are the calls to investigate other corrupt politicians, from any party? After the breakup of the political alliance I know it's a free-for-all out there, and it's hard to keep track without a scorecard. You can place Jaime Abad in two camps - that of the Panameñista party as a larger group, and that of the threatened resurrection of Mireya Moscoso as a sub-group. This is what Panamanians do all day long, discuss these kinds of political plots and subplots. The difference is, they already know who's on what team.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

#Panama - Today the hearing against the former prosecutor Archimedes Sáez concluded, in the Second Criminal Court of La Chorrera, for the crime of extortion. Saez was accused of charging family members $600 - when he was working as the Second Circuit Prosecutor in La Chorrera - to keep a woman who was being held in the holding cell of the Judicial Technical Police (at that time) from being moved to the women's prison. While the prosecutor in charge of the case asked the judge to convict and sentence the former prosecutor, the defense requested that the case be thrown out, alleging there was an error committed in the qualification of the crime. The judge will issue the decision in this case within 30 days. This case cost the former Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez her job, because she ordered illegal wiretaps against Sáez to prove his crime. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: Archimedes Sáez was the prosecutor in La Chorrera. A woman was arrested for something, and she was being held in the holding cells of the DIJ (formerly PTJ) right there in La Chorrera. Normally, any prisoner can only be held in the DIJ holding cells for no more than 60 days. The prosecutors used these cells to keep the prisoners nearby while they are initiating their investigations, so they can ask to have the prisoners brought into their office so they can be interrogated or whatever. Once the interrogations (official sworn statements) are done, then it's common practice for the prisoners to be transferred to a "regular" prison for the long haul. Now, assuming this woman prisoner was from La Chorrera, she probably would have been transferred to the Women's Prison, which is located on Tumba Muerto, out past the intersection where Roosevelt's head (statue) used to be. No matter - it's a long haul from La Chorrera. Her family members asked for her not to be moved. They wanted her to remain in La Chorrera so it would be easier to visit her, bring her food and stuff, or what have you. This former prosecutor Archimedes Sáez charged her family members $600 dollars to keep her in La Chorrera. The family members complained to the Attorney General, who ordered a wiretap to confirm the accusations. They got the conclusive evidence thanks to the wiretap, but the Supreme Court also ruled that Ana Matilde Gomez had also broken the law when she did the wiretap on her own. It was political - they wanted her gone and this was the way they did it. Anyway, now (finally) this Archimedes Sáez guy is getting his day in court. I don't know what potential sentence this crime carries, but it's probably pretty stiff.

#Panama - The Fifth Criminal Court convicted and sentenced to three years and four months in prison the former Director of the Civil Aviation Authority, Eustacio Fabrega, accused of embezzlement for the use of government owned fuel in his privately owned airplane. According to the ruling handed down by Judge Enrique Paniza, the events of what happened "will affect the smooth running of the government, since Fabrega, using his status as a public servant, used State owned fuel to supply his privately owned aircraft, and he was not able to prove during the course of the investigation that the airplane (or fuel) was used for public purposes." In his decision, judge Paniza acquitted Aissa Loana Castillo Martínez - who worked as Fabrega's secretary - of all charges. During the investigation Panama's Third Anti Corruption Prosecutor determined that Fabrega, who was the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority during the administration of Martin Torrijos, was aware that the aircraft owned by the government were operational, but he decided to use his privately owned aircraft (with registration numbers HP669 and HP1674) using State owned fuel anyway. During the preliminary hearing last week, Fabrega pleaded not guilty, and he said he had reached an agreement with the Court of Accounts for $1,605 dollars, to close the case for the injury caused. His lawyer Moses Bartlett said he would appeal the ruling. (Prensa)

#Panama - Panama's Attorney General Jose Ayú Prado asked the Supreme Court for authority to investigate the alleged involvement of National Assembly Deputies in the alleged irregularities in the contract to buy and sell land in Chilibre for the construction of a hospital. Ayú Prado said the Attorney General's office cannot investigate anything if there is a Deputy from the National Assembly involved, and in this case the name of Tito Rodriguez has been mentioned. Furthermore, Ayú Prado said the investigation into the irregularities in the purchase of the lot of land in Paitilla are advancing and the file already has two volumes. "We are analyzing all the information we have obtained from the Anati, the MEF and the Justice of the Peace of San Francisco," said Ayú Prado. He added that the plans for the land were missing, and they have already been provided by the ANATI. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: According to statements made by Panama's Health Minister, the Panameñista Deputy in the National Assembly, Tito Rodriguez, personally pressured him to push the land purchase forward. This was the deal sponsored by Vice President Juan Carlos Varela when he was the Foreign Minister, and the deal was to purchase the land at a greatly inflated price using funds donated by Taiwan. Only the Supreme Court can investigate Deputies in the National Assembly, and only Deputies in the National Assembly can investigate Supreme Court justices, so the two organizations have been in a kind of stand-off for decades. Dozens of complaints have been filed against Deputies and the Supreme Court refuses to act, and dozens of complaints have been filed against Supreme Court justices, and the National Assembly refuses to act (Mexican standoff). So, in effect, any member of either organization can do whatever the hell they want. What a wonderful country for the rich, famous, and crooked. But wait, Martinelli appointed Ayú Prado. And Martinelli will have appointed eight of twelve sitting Supreme Court justices. And, Martinelli fired the Panameñista Juan Carlos Varela from his position as the Foreign Minister. And Ayú Prado wants to investigate a Panameñista lawmaker. Well then, in that case, let justice prevail, by golly. This investigation will slowly drag headlines into the news every day from now until the elections in May 2014, and by then Varela and the Panameñistas will be seen as damaged (corrupt) goods, and no threat to a CD victory over the PRD. The Panameñistas get third place, as usual.

With evidence in hand, this morning, Monday, 26 September 2011, the Director of the Civil Protection System (SINAPROC) Arturo Alvarado, appeared before the office of the Electoral Prosecutor, reacting to allegations made ​​by Lisimaco López, who said the President of the Molirena political party was transported in a SINAPROC helicopter to attend proselytizing activities. Alvarado rejected that assertion, and among the evidence he presented was the flight log of the SINAPROC helicopter in question, which keeps track of the usage of the aircraft. "Never, and I'm sure President Ricardo Martinelli would not allow the use of helicopters, not only from the SINAPROC but from any State entity, for political campaigning," said Alvarado. López, who is a member of the Molirena political party who opposes the current party President Sergio Gonzalez Ruiz, says the SINAPROC aircraft was made available to Gonzalez Ruis for him to promote the proposed fusion of the Molirena with the Cambio Democratico political party. (Telemetro)

The former Director of the Public Registry, a member of the Panameñista political party, Luis Barria, said the National Land Authority (Anati) is awarding land titles illegally. According to Barria, it shows in the scandals that have come to public light, and from the beginning they have wanted to blame the Public Registry. "When they created the ANTI law they changed several articles of Law 80 which gave him the power, and the person who opposed was left outside," he told Noticias AM. He said he was one of the people who disagreed with this law, which is why they started problems in the entity (Public Registry) and hence his departure from the institution. He added that the titles processed in the Public Registry from January to July of this year, more than 50% were awarded to Limited Partnerships. "This means they are not being delivered to the people who own the rights of possession as they have been saying," he said. He added that this law has been driven since 2005 only by only wealthy people who have great interest in the lands of the islanders. He said if they do not suspend the enforcement of the ANATI law then they will just continue to award land titles in an illegal manner. (Panama America)

Luis Barria Moscoso - Former Director of Public Regsitry

Editor's Comment: Consider the source. Luis Barria lost his job as a result of the breakdown of the alliance between the Cambio Democratico and his Panamañista party. I would ask him this - why didn't he make this announcements or file complaints before he was fired? If he knew about it the whole time, then he's just as corrupt and responsible as anyone else. In these days of a three way split of political interests in Panama, you have to read literally everything through the filter of "and what political party is that dude in?" It gets very complicated, convoluted, and twisted sometimes. For instance, earlier this spring someone came to me with a story about land being stolen - and the focus was that it was all supposedly being done through the office of Public Registry, at the hands of Luis Barria and company. I didn't follow up, and I'm sure there are all kinds of dirty land titling things going on, all over the place. And check the last name - Moscoso - same as that of the former president Mireya Moscoso. Any relation? No matter, really. The Panameñistas are now 100% outside and looking in, so all they can do is toss hand grenades at the ever higher walls of the Martinelli machine.

After a year and five months without leaving the country, former President Ernesto Perez Balladares was allowed by Judge Hilda Bonilla, the alternate in the Ninth Criminal Court, to travel to Spain, Germany and Brazil for 38 days. Perez Balladares has been barred from leaving the country because he is waiting for the Second Superior Court to resolve the appeal to the dismissal handed down in his case by the Ninth Criminal Court last April, in the process that followed him and 14 other people for money laundering. The last time Perez Balladares was out of Panama was when he traveled to Peru in April 2010. The judge's decision, which grants permission to Pérez Balladares, is dated 15 September 2011. However, Perez Balladares had requested to travel to Madrid, Spain, from 14 September and to return from Brazil on 21 October 2011. (Prensa)