The electroshock weapon or "taser" is the new tool of the National Police to implement in criminal cases.

This weapon is designed to deliver an electric shock and immobilize the person for five seconds, long enough for police units to act.

Felipe Cruz, PN commissioner, told Telemetro Reports that the impact of this tool has no permanent effect on the person, besides the immobilization of muscles.

The Community Preventive Police Unit is the first to implement the electroshock weapon. (Mi Diario)

The body of an unidentified man was found floating in a creek located in Sector 2 of La Primavera en Alcalde Díaz. Authorities estimated the man's age at approximate 30 years. Witnesses said they heard shots last night, and some children found the man's body floating in the creek today when they went out to play. Authorities are investigating the cause and working to identify the perpetrators of this murder. (TVN)

Three people were arrested for the murder of two Spanish businessmen, one of them of German origin, perpetrated on a rural farm in the province of Colon, on the Caribbean coast, diplomatic sources said.

The victims, identified as José Antonio Perdomo, 57, an entrepreneur from the Canary Islands, and Miguel Undier, 47, with dual German and Spanish nationality, were found on Thursday morning on a rural estate owned by Undier located on the Upper Coast of the province of Colon, to the east of the city with the same name.

Three arrests have already been made in relation to these murders, according to Panamanian authorities and confirmed the ambassador of Spain, Jesus Silva Fernandez, while the investigation continues, and the possibility of new arrests has not been ruled out.

According to local media, apparently the murder occurred days ago, as deduced by the condition of the bodies, found by chance by workers who passed through the farm, located in a secluded community of Juan Gallegos, about two hundred kilometers north of Panama City.

The diplomatic sources said both of the victims can be considered to be from the Canary Islands, as in the case of the German, who had lived all his life in the Spanish archipelago, although during the last fifteen years he came very often to Panama, and in recent times he had practically taken up residence on the farm.

The owner of the farm, located in a jungle area of ​​the Caribbean coast with a very low population density, and where incidents with drug traffickers are common, spent his time working on the farm and taking care of the animals and trees.

Apparently the murders were due to "an incident with poachers," although that is not yet fully confirmed and therefore remains under investigation, the sources added.

"It seems that there had been an incident with poachers, who had entered the farm (...) At one point, it is unclear whether employees of the farm had killed (the hunter's) dogs, because there had already been several incidents with them, and then they (the hunters), in an act of revenge, went there and took the law into their own hands," said the source.

Hours after the discovery of the bodies, the Panamanian Security Minister, Jose Raul Mulino, and Police Director, Julio Molto, called, on Thursday evening, Ambassador Silva Fernandez to inform him of the arrest of three people suspected of be "directly involved" in the crime, sources said.

The Consulate of Spain in Panama has offered support to the families of the victims for the repatriation of the bodies if they so choose.

The businessman José Antonio Perdomo Cebrián, originally from Telde, on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, ran a rural hostel in Ojos de Garza, a town of the municipality, and was married to the former Councilwoman Laly Sanchez of that locality. (Panama America)

A Spanish businessman, identified as Michael Hnrich Untiedt Buchle, 62, and his employee Jose de los Santos Perdomo, 57, both of Spanish origin, were killed in the Upper Coast region of the Colon province.

Upon initiation of investigations into the case, it is assumed that both murders occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the farm owned by Untiedt, in the community of Juan Gallegos, on the Upper Coast of Colon.

The bodies were discovered by workers who went by the place and reported their find to the authorities, who arrived hours later due to the remoteness of the place where the murders occurred.

The victims were outside the house, and had blows and traumas, mostly in the area of the head. It is assumed that the killers used sticks, machetes and possibly even a firearm to kill them.

Investigators from the Department of Criminology of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences and Public Ministry officials went to the scene to initiate investigations.

Some people said Untiedt was not a very friendly person, but regretted the way they took his life.

It was reported that the Spanish-born millionaire businessman had many properties, farms, and other businesses in Europe.

In the investigations, it was also learned that De los Santos Perdomo had not arrived that long ago, and he worked for the other Spanish citizen.

The authorities indicated that crimes in the province of Colon have increased in recent months. (Critica)

Editor's Comment: A foreigner in a very remote area, millionaire, made his money in Europe and the Canary Islands. Moved to Panama to invest. Pay particular attention to the reports from locals saying he was "not a friendly person." I didn't know him, but chances are he was a hard nosed businessman who chaffed the sensibilities of the people living near him. In any case, increase your security levels. This was a robbery - other reports indicate his house and yacht had been ransacked, and valuables had been stolen.

A double homicide was reported in the sector of Juan Gallego along the "Upper Coast" of the province of Colon - early reports indicate a foreigner and his employee were found murdered on the beach.

The man, supposedly a Spaniard, was found near a beach area.

Their bodies had stab wounds made with a machete, and they had been beaten.

The authorities are investigating this double murder. (Critica)

The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) expelled the company Desarrollo Golf Coronado, S.A. from the Tourism Registry, which operates the 115-room hotel Coronado Golf & Beach Club, in the Chame district.

In a resolution dated 7 December 2012, the Director of Development and Tourism Investment of the ATP, Teodolinda Quintero, ordered the cancellation of the registration of the company in the register, has been there since December 2007.

Quintero argued that Desarrollo Golf Coronado, S.A., provided false information in order to obtain the tax benefits set out in Law 8 of 1994, which promotes tourism activities in the country and provides for tax incentives.

The official referred to 3 of the 44 parcels of land the company claimed as theirs in Chame, and that are part of the hotel that do not belong to them.

However, Desarrollo Golf Coronado, S.A. warned the ATP about this error and asked for the necessary correction.

The Company was notified on Monday and has five days to file a motion for reconsideration.

Three weeks ago, the manager of the ATP, Solomon Shamah, filed a criminal complaint against Desarrollo Golf Coronado, S.A., for allegedly forging documents.

This is not the only hurdle the company has faced under the government of Ricardo Martinelli. Thirty-five hotel properties have been seized by order of the Department of Revenue, claiming payment of $3 million for alleged deficiencies in tax returns.

Editor's Comment: I predicted this would happen months ago. In 2007 when Ruben Blades was the Tourism Minister under the administration of Martin Torrijos, they renewed the tourism accreditation for Desarrollo Golf Coronado, S.A., but with a warning. They were told that if they continued with the irregularities they had found, then the company would be booted from the "Tourism Registry" which allows them to claim the tax incentives when operating as a company related to tourism. When the alliance between the Panameñistas and the CD broke up, the La Prensa newspaper and Roberto Eisenmann started attacking Ricardo Martinelli. He sent in the DGI and their auditors, who found the irregularities and applied the $3 million in fines. They then seized properties to make sure they get paid, booted them off of the Tourism Registry, and filed criminal complaints against the company. Politics mixed with business, hardball style.

The Panamanian company TELERED S.A. that operates the Clave System in Panama, reported that it has not been violated, and that the cases of the alleged cloning of debit cards are the result of attacks by international crime syndicates, and those cases are being investigated by the competent authorities.

A company statement said "the platform of the Clave system is robust, reliable and kept up to date on the best practices of security to safeguard cardholder interests."

The company said they are investing in advanced technologies to enhance the necessary measures, to combat cyber crime and to protect the safety of users when withdrawing cash at ATMs and when making purchases in stores.

TELERED S.A. cited a list of recommendations to cardholders, such as carefully selecting the cashier, to verify the status of the cashier before operating, don't loan or give the card to anyone, and not reveal the PIN number. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: There has been a rash of "cloning" going on in Panama lately, with millions of dollars being stolen by a band of criminals.

The First Superior Prosecutor, Luis Martinez confirmed that in the coming hours they will catch the person or persons responsible for the murder of 76 year old Otilia Aizprúa de González, who was killed in her house in the neighborhood of El Retorno, in the city of David, province of Chiriquí.

"During the day we will send the medical examiner to determine the exact cause of death of the woman who was found dead at her home," said prosecutor Martinez.

He added it is only a question of time before they catch the person who took her life, said the prosecutor of the province of Chiriqui.

The woman was found with her hands tied and gagged inside one of the bedrooms of her residence.

The murder was discovered by family members and reported to the authorities, on 8 December 2012, when a daughter of the now deceased woman called her mother on the phone to congratulate her on Mother's Day, and when she did not answer, she asked her son to stop by the house of his grandmother.

Upon arriving at the residence he called for his grandmother, but when she did not answer he contacted his mother, and they subsequently entered the residence where they found the tragic scene.

The procedure for the removal of the body was conducted by the prosecutor Martinez, who leads the investigation. (Critica)

Two masked subjects entered the grounds of the estate belonging to the family of the late former governor of Cocle, Darío Fernández. The individuals only gagged the guard in one of the bathrooms, and they told him "not to worry because they only steal from the rich." The strange thing is that nothing was taken from the place, they only "opened four holes" in the pathway that leads towards at "rancho" on the property. Members of the National Police stepped up security in the area. This event occurs just 11 days after those who are accused in the murder of Darío Fernández were called to trial. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: In the article they used the expression "abrieron huecos" - which literally means they "opened holes." That could mean they broke holes in a wall, as if they were looking for something hidden in a wall. Or, it could mean they dug holes in the ground, as if they were trying to dig something up that they thought was hidden there. The murder of Darío Fernández is tied to the case being covered by the La Estrella newspaper, about how the theft of land was an inside job conduced by corrupt former officials within the Public Registry. There's a whole lot more to this than what meets the eye. This band of crooks stole land worth millions, and they have already demonstrated they are willing to kill people (like Darío Fernández) to shut them up.

The authorities of the Judicial Morgue of David in the province of Chiriqui confirmed that the body found yesterday in Bágala de Boquerón is that of the 18 year old college student Aira Isabel Guerra, who disappeared last Friday.

Guerra was last seen in the parking lot of a supermarket in the city of David in Chiriqui.

Earlier, Aira's relatives used chairs to block the doors of the of morgue in David and placed as human shields, annoyed, because the authorities had not allowed them to see the body of the woman whose body was found on Monday in Boquerón.

Similarly, relatives of another woman who has been missing since last September also went to the the morgue. The second woman is Verónica Arcia Cerceno, who disappeared from Concepción Bugaba. The authorities ruled out that the body found was Veronica. (TVN)

While family and friends continue to look for 18 year old Aira Isabel Guerra who has been missing since last Friday, today the authorities found the lifeless body of a young woman who has not yet been identified.

The First Superior Prosecutor Luis Martinez is at the scene, who is working to determine if the general characteristics of the missing girl coincide with those of the person who was found.

The body was found on the side of the main road leading from the community Boquerón, in the province of Chiriquí, where there is a teak plantation.

On Sunday, after a day of searching, friends, family and acquaintances went through the grasslands in the area of ​​San Carlitos, in David, where they found where part of Aira's belongings had been dumped, such as her identity card, wallet, and some clothing.

It was learned that so far one person remains under investigation, who has been identified as the girl's boyfriend. (Panama America)

The assassination of the political leader and former governor Darío Fernández Jaén has become the first challenge of the brand new accusatory penal system in Cocle.

During the twelve months of the investigation, the prosecution has arrested eight people. Joel Guerra, as the material author. Miguel Ángel Arner, Deyshi Iveth Quirós Natal, Julian Nouvet Conte and Carlos Emilio Bárcenas as accomplices. The last person arrested was the lawyer Mayra Hall Conte. Cristóbal Jiménez and Gamal Gamet Gordón have been granted preventative measures other than jail, while awaiting trial.

The motive for the murder has to do with a dispute over fraudulent land titling, a situation that was publicly denounced by Fernandez.

The case is a challenge to the authorities of the Public Ministry. Is the first to be resolved within the parameters of the new accusatory judicial system. Roberto Moreno, the prosecutor who has investigated the murder of Fernandez over the past twelve months, says he has sufficient evidence to go to trial, if not against all eight suspects, most of them.

There are emails and triangulated phone calls, one of them a few minutes before Dario was killed. Search warrants have been issued and executed on the homes of the suspects. Similarly, there was a visual inspection of the Notary Fourth of Panama, where they found the scriptures related to the several parcels of land mentioned in the case record.

There have been death threats against a protected witness, so the prosecutor asked to take his sworn statement in the presence of a judge to give validity to his statements, so that they can be taken into account as evidence of proof. An official who works at the Notary's office has also been questioned. Defense lawyers have filed a charge against the prosecutor.

One person is still a fugitive. Ricardo Martínez Quirós, who has been identified as the alleged mastermind. An arrest warrant against him has been coordinated with INTERPOL. Martínez Quirós is a party delegate, and a member of the National Directorate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). There are several complaints against him in the office Fourteenth Prosecutor of the Criminal Circuit for the allegedly fraudulent acquisition of land, in which the same people are involved as those who are accused in the murder of Fernández.

According to sources from the prosecution, the suspect has left Panama. His last immigration record record reports a trip to Venezuela.

The only thing left to be done is for the judge in the case to set a date for the interim hearings, where the prosecutor will sustain his indictment, and then set the day for the trial, which must be in early 2013. If for those days Martínez has not yet been captured, then he will be tried separately in an individual trial. (Estrella)

Editor's Comment: This is a massively important case. To put things in perspective, a journalist was assassinated because he was investigating and reporting on these fraudulent land deals. Members of the English speaking community of expatriates in Panama have been victimized by this group - in one case a parcel of land worth $1.5 million dollars was stolen, and the victim was forced to leave the country after having received death threats.

A man was saved from being buried alive, by escaping from his captors in the Barriada Dos Mil de Burunga in the Western part of the province of Panama.

He spent more than 24 hours and deprived of his liberty and showed signs of torture, but then was rescued by the police from Arraiján, who took him to the Santo Tomas hospital in Panama City.

He received medical attention, while the anti-kidnapping units investigate this case. (TVN)

Vincent James was shot in the head when two men attacked him to steal the gun he was carrying. The incident occurred in the Nuevo Colon neighborhood of Sabanitas, Colon province. The watchman, who was guarding a delivery truck for a company that sells dairy products, faced the subjects to keep them from taking his weapon. In the fight, James was able to use his gun and wounded one of the offenders in the leg and in the cheek.

The security guard was immediately transferred to the health clinic in Sabanitas to be stabilized, and from there was sent to the Hospital Manuel Amador Guerrero. The man wounded by the security guard was also was taken to hospital. Hours later, Vincent was sent to the Santo Tomas hospital in Panama City.

The authorities began investigating the case to find the attackers rest of the attackers. Vincent remains in serious condition at the Santo Tomas hospital. (Siglo)

Editor's Comment: If you own a firearm, keep it a secret, as much as possible. Obviously the bad guys will attack you if they think they can steal your weapon - if they know you have it. These cases of "security guard shot by guys who were trying to steal his gun" happen a few times every year.

A quarrel between two street vendors in the vicinity of the Plaza 5 de Mayo, in the township of Santa Ana, left as a result one of them killed after receiving a stab wound in the left breast. The violent scene was reported at about 8:30 am today, in front of the former Museum of the Panamanian Man, located in the same square. The victim, Ruben Munoz, who was in a pool of blood, was taken in a police patrol car to the emergency room of the Santo Tomas hospital, but the man died as a result of the deep stab wound. Meanwhile, the police arrested the suspect, and located the weapon used in the killing.

Both the victim and the aggressor sold candy around the historic Plaza 5 de Mayo, and the whole event took place in front of dozens of people who were waiting for transportation. At the site of the events the only thing left at the place was the candy of the now deceased, and two blood stains on the floor of the sidewalk where he fell, after he was stabbed. The Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) verifies the information that the two men had known one another for years.

Motive - Supposedly one of them winked at a girl who was walking by the place, a situation that was apparently frowned upon by the other. Then began an argument and one of them produced a blunt object (a broom handle), which was used by the victim to attack his assailant, who took the knife and plunged it into the man who was his friend.

Values - Practicing tolerance can prevent fatalities and the outcome of unfortunate situations. Given the hectic routine of most citizens, the practice of values should not be left out. (Critica)

Editor's Comment: Wow. One guy winked at a girl. There was an argument. One produces a stick, the other a knife. Now one is dead and the other is in prison. Yeah, sure. That makes sense.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I just received the following email from a long time reader. He fell for a scam and got taken for $2,100 dollars this afternoon. Read his tale and learn how to avoid getting ripped off by these scam artists, who were "good enough" to get this guy, even though he initially thought something might be wrong: (more)

Editor's Comment: You've just hit a "pay wall." Panama-Guide subscribers (members) who have logged in to their accounts can see the full text of this article. However non-members can only see this short introduction. In this particular case, you will learn how this one individual fell victim to a scam that's common in Panama, and how to avoid being the next victim.

If you would like to subscribe, please click on the button below to pay the $20 (cheap) annual subscription fee via PayPal;

This Is Another Test Article: Anonymous users can only see this article - which contains just the headline and the first sentence of the article. Members who have paid the subscription fee and logged in to their user account on this website will see the full text of the article, and my comments. I will be putting up one of these per day between now and 1 December 2012 and the full implementation of the "pay wall."

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Don't forget to follow Panama Guide on Twitter. Salud.

The National Police has launched an operation in the areas adjacent to the site of the robbery to try to capture the outlaws. Three men and a woman came to the HSBC bank branch in Rio Abajo, using masks, wigs and guns they managed to steal $80,000. After the robbery, the robbers escaped in a van that they later abandoned in Rio Abajo Calle 17. Detectives from the Directorate of Judicial Investigation are analyzing security videos. (Panama America)

Last night a police sergeant shot and killed his wife and another man, after going into a church where they were located, in the sector of El Veredón, in the Turín de Don Bosco, San Miguelito. The police sergeant Joseph Becker turned himself in immediately. His wife, Maria Justa Rivas, 45, was shot twice and died at the San Miguel Arcángel hospital, where she had been taken by a police patrol car, number 80301. The other victim is Luis Perez Cubillas, 58, who was shot in the back, and he died at the health clinic in San Isidro. (Critica)

"Mayte Pellegrini is not responsible for the loss of the $6 million Financial Pacific claimed she was responsible for," said her defense lawyer Mauricio Ceballos last night.

Pellegrini, who has been testifying before the Thirteenth Circuit Prosecutor for the past two days, negotiated her surrender according to her lawyer, and she came to clarify that she had nothing to do with the case, and she is giving details about how the transactions moved.

According to her, in her role in Financial Pacific, the former employee did not have the power to move client's money, she was only an employee, and she took orders from "those who could" move the money.

Apparently within the statements made by Pellegrini, she is providing many details that she knows, which she knows were not contained in the original complaint put forward by the directors of Financial Pacific.

Together with the defendant her brother and parents were also detained, but the latter could receive a different provisional measure, given their health and advanced age.

The lawyer said Pellegrini has remained for a couple of days "declaring and clarifying a number of inaccuracies which lie within the statements in the file, and trying to make light for the prosecutor about how the client's money was moved," he said.

He added that she does not have much of the evidence, which rests within the company. "Now it is the prosecutor who must issue the orders to practice the corresponding inspections of the narratives, to see which version is true," he said.

While the company accused her of being directly responsible for the loss of the money, the lawyer said the charges presented by the company only seek to undermine the possible crimes denounced by the Superintendency of Market Securities. (Estrella)

The brothers Carlos and Aquilino De La Guardia had to wait more than eleven years until three days ago they were acquitted of "crime against the national economy" and the order to lift the restraining order issued against them.

The judge Georgina Tuñón of the Fifteenth Criminal Court of the First Circuit of Panama issued the ruling on 19 November 2012 in favor of the brothers, who were the stars of one of the most controversial bankruptcy cases of the last decade, in which were involved creditors and banks, who asked at the time that the bankruptcy be declared as fraudulent.

On legal grounds, the judge stated that the evidence collected in the bankruptcy process warned that in the plan "participated financial institutions that because of the work they were performing, should have had knowledge about the feasibility or otherwise of this."

She added no evidence was provided in the criminal proceedings that would allow one to arrive at the conclusion that in this case there was intentional or fraudulent bankruptcy, which is consistent with the views expressed by four people who testified in the investigations as experts, and another three who testified as witnesses.

On the other hand, the investigating officer did not provide any form of evidence there was a formal assessment that a state of bankruptcy existed.

In the decisions issued by the Seventeenth Circuit Civil Court it is indicated the Adelag group was formally declared to be in bankruptcy "for now," but for purpose of making the declaration of criminal responsibility for the crime of fraudulent or willful bankruptcy, in the first place, no conditions can be applied to the declaration of bankruptcy, indicating it is provisional or temporary, says judge Tuñón.

The attorney representing Carlos De La Guardia, Carlos Carrillo Gomila, joyfully received the ruling in which it was found, in his words, that in the process there was no fraud, and there was a prior agreement between the group and the creditor banks, before the civil judge who was handling the bankruptcy case, in which the respective compensation was established.

These agreements or concordats signed between the parties restored the ability of Mr. De La Guardia to perform acts of commerce, and the credits and debts were paid mostly with funds that were received.

The judge noted that the deciding concordat represented a viable solution to the problem of bankruptcy, as it is more favorable to the parties to the conflict before a long and expensive process.

This agreement was reached in August 2008, in the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court, and as a result thereof, the De la Guardia brothers agreed to pay the debts of more than $23 million.

Background - After the collapse of Adelag group, made up of the companies Financiera El Roble, El Triángulo, Tecno Auto, Tecno Taller, El Eléctrico Internacional, Unicentro Trading Company and Adelag, 62 creditors demanded payment of more than $120 million in debt, which included 23 banks.

The workers in these companies, despite having priority in the bankruptcy process, preferring to collect their benefits separately.

The Fourteenth Prosecutor opened an official investigation in September 2001 and after seven years of research, in August 2008 held a preliminary hearing was held, in the criminal case that was opened against the accused.

However, during the same period the decisive concordat was signed, in which 49 of the 62 companies to which the group owed money agreed they should discontinue the criminal proceedings.

The brothers De La Guardia still face another legal process. (Panama America)

Yesterday the Public Ministry confirmed the arrest of a key suspect in the alleged illegal transfer of money belonging to the brokerage company Financial Pacific. The suspect was turned over to the Thirteenth Circuit Prosecutor in Panama City and is being questioned in the case.

Editor's Comment: You've just hit a "pay wall." Panama-Guide subscribers (members) who have logged in to their accounts can see the full text of this article. However non-members can only see this short introduction.

If you would like to subscribe, please click on the button below to pay the $20 (cheap) annual subscription fee via PayPal;

This Is Another Test Article: Anonymous users can only see this article - which contains just the headline and the first sentence of the article. Members who have paid the subscription fee and logged in to their user account on this website will see the full text of the article, and my comments. I will be putting up one of these per day between now and 1 December 2012 and the full implementation of the "pay wall."

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Don't forget to follow Panama Guide on Twitter. Salud.

The Italian businessman Mauro Velocci, who was part of a negotiation with the Panamanian government for the construction of modular prisons, and who denounced alleged bribery in Italy, came to the support of the PRD's Balbina Herrera, who recently received an injunction, prevented her from leaving the country.

The injunction against Herrera came after she appeared before the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor to give her sworn statement in the investigation being conducted for the alleged crimes against the inviolability of secrecy and privacy, to the detriment of the president, Ricardo Martinelli; because on 5 December 2011 Herrera revealed the content of emails given to her by Velocci, showing the relationship between Martinelli and Lavitola, the latter accused of bribery in negotiations with Panama.

Velocci said on Telemetro Reports that neither he nor Herrera have done anything wrong, or against Panama, and instead, the emails help the Panamanian people.

"I do not know why I am accused, and a person as valuable as Mrs. Herrera" said the former representative of the Svemark consortium in Panama.

The Italian said he does not understand why they are talking about the alleged violation of state information, because the emails to which he had access were from the account of Valter Lavitola, who (according to him) gave him the password and access to the account.

"No one has gone to his email inbox. I had never violated the correspondence of a head of state or of any other person," the Italian said.

Valter Lavitola who was sentenced to three years in prison for alleged embezzlement in an Italian newspaper, is also noted in a process of international corruption against the Italian conglomerate Finmeccaninca, for the alleged payment of bribes to Panamanian officials.

"If the Panamanian justice is what I am seeing, for my life I would never step foot in Panama, there is no guarantee of anything, because they are taking me through a process without my consent," said Mauro Velocci, who thinks the process is not being managed as it should. (Estrella)

Editor's Comment: So, supposedly Lavitola gave Velocci the password to this email account, then Velocci passed copies of those emails (between Lavitola and Martinelli) to Balbina Herrera, who ran to the press with them. Gotcha.

The opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) today lamented that the Public Ministry is once again being used to politically pursue its members, specifically Balbina Herrera, who today, Tuesday received an injunction prevented her from leaving the country, after having appeared before the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor.

"Once again, the Public Ministry is being used to politically pursue PRD leaders," said the Secretary General of the PRD, Juan Carlos Navarro, who said the action against Herrera was unacceptable.

Navarro said the PRD hopes the injunction against the former presidential candidate of the PRD is not just another government retaliation, for Herrera's actions to disseminate in the news media emails of President Ricardo Martinelli and the businessman Valter Lavitola.

These emails contained information related to the alleged payment of bribes to Panamanian officials in the failed negotiations for the construction of modular prisons.

Meanwhile, the first secretary of the National Executive Committee, Javier Martinez Acha, said "it is absurd that the authorities of the Public Ministry, in this case, are going against the person who filed the complaint (Balbina Herrera) and not against the person committing the offense."

According to Acha, with this the Public Ministry is clearly "allowing themselves" to be used to pursue a PRD leader.

Injunction: The former presidential candidate and leader of the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party, Balbina Herrera, received a court order barring her from leaving the country after appearing before the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor.

Herrera invoked Article No. 22 of the Constitution, which states that she should have the assistance of a lawyer for police and judicial matters.

On Tuesday morning Herrera said her lawyers were not notified of the citation she received from the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor.

"I told them I was willing to testify, but that my lawyers should be present," said Herrera to the news media gathered outside of the prosecutor's office.

Herrera took advantage of the presence of the media to send a message to the president, Ricardo Martinelli, on the Finmeccanica case.

"President Ricardo Martinelli, rest assured that the people involved in the Finmeccanica case are in your government," she said.

Herrera, on the other hand, said Martinelli's computer had not been hacked.

She lamented that the current administration of justice in the country is in this condition.

She said this case is a persecution against her.

'Illegality' - Herrera said the citation issued this Tuesday, 20 November 2012 by the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor is totally illegal.

Herrera explained - upon arrival before the Seventh Prosecutor - that this is because no judge can act over the decision of a prosecutor, who had issued a temporary stay in her favor.

Herrera revealed she was summoned to the prosecutor's office at the request of the Eleventh Criminal Court judge, who requested an extension of the case.

She added that the judge's order is illegal because Article No. 5 of Law No. 63 establishes that no judge can intervene in the decision of a prosecutor.

BACKGROUND - The prosecution Seventh Circuit upheld the order of Alexis Ballestero, the judge of the Eleventh Criminal Court, and filed charges and ordered an investigation against Herrera and the Italian businessman Mauro Velocci.

Herrera and Velocci are accused for the disclosure, through Telemetro and TVN Channel 2, of emails containing conversations between President Ricardo Martinelli and the businessman Lavítola Valter, who has been arrested in Italy for allegedly trying to blackmail the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Herrera said she is accused of having violated Panamanian state security because "these documents belong to President Ricardo Martinelli." She added that this was her problem, and she would not involve the Democratic Revolutionary Party. "Any party members who want to accompany me would be appreciated." (Prensa)

The prominent member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Balbina Herrera, received an injunction preventing her from leaving the country, by the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor. Herrera together with the Italian businessman Mauro Velocci are accused of the commission of an offense against the inviolability of secrecy and privacy. Herrera said her lawyers were not notified of the proceedings programmed for today in the offices of the Seventh Circuit Prosecutor, where the prosecutor Jose Osorio notified her of the injunction against her. She said she would continue to denounce irregularities. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Balbina Herrera went on television and divulged the contents of private email correspondence between Ricardo Martinelli and the Italian businessman Valter Lavitola. So, she is being investigated for having violated the privacy of the president's electronic correspondence. She said in those television interviews, and in other interviews after she broke the scandal, that she had received those emails from Mauro Velocci. And strangely enough, in this investigation the contents of those emails are practically immaterial. This is Panama, where the law is selectively applied in response to political machinations, especially at this level.

The Seventh Circuit Prosecutor responded to an order issued by the Eleventh Criminal Court by filing formal charges and opening an official investigation against the prominent politician of the Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) political party and former presidential candidate Balbina Herrera and the Italian businessman Mauro Velocci, who are accused of having disclosed emails containing conversations between President Ricardo Martinelli and the Italian Valter Lavitola on the Telemetro and TVN news broadcasts.

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The full Supreme Court granted an injunction to Angel De La Cruz, owner of the company Medicom, who sold the raw material used by the Social Security Fund (CSS) to prepare syrups that killed more than 300 Panamanians.

Under the signature of Supreme Court magistrate Hernán De Leon, they issued a Habeas Corpus, which requires De La Cruz to report every 15 days to the court handling his case.

Angel De La Cruz was arrested and has remained in the prison in Tinajitas since 17 November 2006.

De La Cruz had already served the minimum sentence if convicted of manslaughter.  

The businessman is accused of supplying the diethylene glycol to the CSS instead of pure glycerin, which was used during the administration of President Martín Torrijos for making expectorants. (Critica)

Editor's Comment: Back in 2006 a Chinese company sold diethylene glycol, which is a cheap to produce chemical used as a solvent, packaged as "pure glycerin", which is used in the manufacture of medicines that are fit for human consumption.

"Pure glycerin" is very expensive while diethylene glycol is a relatively cheap industrial product. Both are sweet to the taste, and it's practically impossible to tell one from the other by just looking at them. You have to do some quality assurance and testing, to make sure of what you actually have. That testing was never done.

The falsely labeled products were first sold by the Chinese company to another company in Spain. Then the Spanish company sold them to this guy's company in Panama. Then Medicom sold them to the Social Security Fund of the Panamanian government. The CSS lab then used the barrels of diethylene glycol that had been labeled as "pure glycerin" (in China) to create medicines that were handed out by the pharmacies of their hospitals, mostly to poor Panamanians. At least 300 people died, and hundreds more were seriously injured.

The manager of the Chinese company who was responsible for this was tried, found guilty, and executed.

When diethylene glycol goes through your system, the kidneys try to metabolize the chemicals. Basically, they get burned out from the inside. Many of the Panamanian victims of this massive diethylene glycol poisoning have been on dialysis ever since, because of renal failure.

What has become obvious is that there was ample negligence to go around at all levels. The mislabeled products "should" have been caught in Spain, by the Panamanian company, and by the technicians of the CSS lab. But, they weren't. No one did any testing or quality control, at any level. They all claim to have been "duped" by the person who sold them the products in the first place. The end result is hundreds dead, thousands injured. And today, this guy got released from prison, six years later.

A 64 year old man was shot to death by bandits who robbed the store owned by his brother-in-law located in Calobre, in the province of Veraguas. It was learned that the criminals managed tie up the owner, but his wife started screaming when their relative arrived with a machete, and they shot him. The criminals managed to escape, and part of the $500 they had stolen was found strewn on the roadway. The National Police activated an operation in search of the attackers. (Critica)

The Panamanian boxer Vicente "El Loco" Mosquera was arrested by police officers on Calle 12 in Santa Ana, at 3:00 am in the early morning hours today. The first unofficial reports indicated that "El Loco" Mosquera was with another boxer nicknamed "El Indio" when they assaulted a disabled candy seller, because he told them to pick up a piece of trash they had thrown down, because the area was clean. Apparently the boxer "El Loco" Mosquera was disgusted by what the seller told him, and he assaulted him. During the incident "El Loco" fell and hit his cheek. Presumably "El Loco" was intoxicated. Police units arrested the two boxers who were involved in the scandal and took them to the Santo Tomas hospital for treatment. (Critica)

An entire family was arrested after it was detected that they had formed a criminal gang using the modus operandi of "save the boss." Six people, two men and four women, have been arrested and turned over to prosecutors. However, there is a second group committing this same crime. They seek to trick the domestic employees (maids) into giving them money or valuables, in order to save their employer or boss, who supposedly has been kidnapped.

Javier Pinzón and Damaris Rodriguez, of the Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ), explained the modus operandi of these gangs, who have been operating in Panama for about the past two months, specifically in areas such as Bethania, San Francisco, Balboa, the Costa del Este, and others. Pinzón said there is a second group that left the country, but they have been fully identified. (Telemetro)

Editor's Comment: The criminals would contact the maid when the family was away, and tell them that they have been kidnapped. Either the maid turns over all of the money and valuables in the house, or their bosses will be killed. They comply, only to find out that it was all a hoax. These people were smart enough to get away with it for awhile, and dumb enough to get caught.

The Chinese merchant Yon Fa Fu, 33, was murdered by another Chinese citizen in the "Mary" convenience store located in Vista Alegre of Arraiján. The suspect stabbed the victim in the neck six times, and wounded the victim's 21 year old wife Cecilia Duo. The murderer was caught in a convenience store in Pueblo Nuevo in Panama City. He is a cousin of Cecilia and apparently he was upset because Yon owed him a large sum of money from the sale of a store and a car. (Critica)