International
‘Gaby’ Carrizo, the unpopular ruling presidential candidate for the Presidency of Panama
José Gabriel Carrizo, the current Panamanian vice president, better known as ‘Gaby’, aspires to the historic Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) to lead Panama again for another five years after next Sunday’s elections, in which he participates with low popularity rates.
Carrizo, the ruling party’s candidate for the Presidency in conjunction with the Molinera party, and who this Wednesday closes his campaign in Panama City, is at the queue of the polls among the five candidates with options, although the strong base of the PRD in the country, the party of the iconic general Omar Torrijos, cannot be underestimated.
The polls that ‘Gaby’ does lead are those of rejection, with between 50% and 60% of the participants in some surveys who assured that they would “never” vote for him.
“Don’t eat a story (…) we are going to win the elections in a forceful way,” Carrizo said on Wednesday at the closing ceremony of the campaign before a mass of members of the PRD, and assured that the polls “really that they do not want to publish” predict that triumph.
A lawyer by profession, he has been a member of the majority party of Panama since 2007 and in 2019 he became the youngest vice president in Panamanian history at just 36 years old, after Laurentino Cortizo won that year’s elections.
‘Gaby’, 40, has had a lot of visibility within the Executive, which has led to it being popularly pointed out as one of the main faces behind the different scandals that have enveloped the current Government since its inception and that increased with the COVID-19 pandemic.
That year, Carrizo defended the transparent management of the $1,457 million approved during 2020 to combat the pandemic in Panama.
Carrizo has also had a step run over by the presidential debates or during interviews with some media, when making mistakes when explaining his proposals, defending for example that “Panama is safer than France” or that they want to “pass Panama from the first world to the third world.”
This triggered a wave of jokes on social networks that the same candidate used in his favor to campaign with humor, a tone of his political strategy.
In the third and final debate he made the decision not to participate, arguing that José Raúl Mulino, candidate who leads the polls for the Realizing Goals party and substitute for the disabled former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009 – 2014), did not join the debate, as he had not done in the previous ones.
“In the case of the vice president candidate, I think he was looking for an excuse not to come because the last interventions have really been disastrous for him,” José Blandón, the running mate for vice president of Rómulo Roux of Democratic Change, told EFE after the debate.
The youngest of the eight candidates for the Presidency, starts with his main proposal to reduce the working week by maintaining 40 hours in fewer days, a system similar to the one already implemented in some European countries: “Work four days, pound three,” he says on his advertising posters and social networks.
Carrizo has given continuous mass baths in the provinces of Panama during his campaign explaining his electoral promises, which include that cut in working days, salary increases – including for security groups -, free medicines and promotion of tourism, among others.
“When you ask how much 4×8 is (referring to the ruling you had in one of the debates by saying 40 and not 32) answer that there are a thousand sticks (tickets) for your pocket,” the candidate shouts eagerly in one of his videos.
International
White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment
The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.
U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.
The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.
The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.
International
Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López
The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”
The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.
López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.
According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.
As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.
The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.
López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.
International
ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says
The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.
“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.
Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.
According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.
Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.
The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.
A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.
Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.
White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment
Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López
ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says
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