Centroamérica

“Corruption was a man, but democratically!” says Rubén Blades after elections in Panama

Panamanian singer-songwriter Rubén Blades said on Monday that he “won corruption, but democratically” after the presidential triumph on the eve of José Raúl Mulino, the dolphin of former President Ricardo Martinelli, with 34% in the general elections in Panama.

“I write these lines with great regret. I was categorically mistaken in believing that J. R. (José Raúl) Mulino would not be elected president of Panama,” Blades wrote on his blog ´La Esquina´.

“On the contrary, in a public demonstration of support for corruption, a candidate chosen ‘by finger’ by a convicted and fugitive declared corrupt, with only 33% of the votes in today’s election, May 5, 2024, has become the new president of the Republic of Panama, despite the combined rejection of 67% of the rest of the electorate,” the famous singer added.

Mulino replaced Martinelli as a presidential candidate in these elections after he was disqualified by the sentence of more than 10 years in prison for money laundering, which led him to take asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama.

Mulino had a controversial in extremis candidacy that up to 48 hours before the elections was pending the Supreme Court of Justice after being sued for her alleged “unconstitutionality” because she was not elected in primaries or having a candidate for vice president, as established by the Magna Carta.

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Blades, a critic of former President Martinelli who on other occasions has called him “corrupt,” questioned the “How can we insist on the youth that civic virtue is superior to opportunism, to the trap, to the ´play alive´? Almost 900,000 (nine hundred thousand people) gave their approval to Ricardo Martinelli by voting for his chosen one.”

“That’s the harsh reality,” the winner of multiple Grammy awards and former Panamanian Minister of Tourism categorically added.

He said that “for months” he had the “hope that this result would not occur,” because he knows that the country “has a spirit, a special soul that makes it wonderfully unique.”

“Young people like Juan Diego Vásquez and Gabriel Silva, and those who participated in the ‘Vamos por Panamá’ coalition as candidates, confirm my certainty that Panama can create honest and intelligent responses with which to carve out an honorable and successful destiny, despite the sorrows and disappointments that many of us experience today,” described the singer-songwriter.

Blades refers to the platform ´Vamos´, which he himself supported when he went out to campaign with those young independent deputies who rose in these elections with 19 seats in Parliament.

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“So let’s prepare our minds and souls for what is to come. I fear that it will not be what some think will happen, a magical period of prosperity, and unlimited progress for Panama,” said the former minister, since Mulino promised a “pro-private enterprise” government that will resene the Panamanian economy, one of his campaign commitments.

And Blades concluded: “Whatever it is a matter of making up, a convict, corrupt and fugitive from justice has won the presidency of our republic through his anointed front man, with the direct vote of a people self-condemned for their irresponsibility and their refusal to consider the benefit that can result from living and accepting the consequences of civic honesty and the rejection of the poison of clientelism and ‘living play’.”

Centroamérica

Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora returns to prison after court revokes release

Businessman and journalist José Rubén Zamora was sent back to prison on Monday after the Second Multipersonal Criminal Court complied with an order from the Third Court of Appeals, which suspended his conditional release. The ruling followed a motion filed by the Public Ministry, arguing that Zamora posed a flight risk.

“I must comply with and enforce the order,” Judge Erick García stated during the hearing that revoked Zamora’s substitute measures, which had been in place since October last year.

Following the court’s decision, the founder of El Periódico was transferred back to prison, where he had already been incarcerated from July 2022 to October 2024.

Zamora’s defense team unsuccessfully requested the suspension of the hearing, citing two pending appeals aimed at overturning the Court of Appeals’ decision.

Centroamérica

Honduras extradites José Sosa to U.S. on cocaine trafficking charges

Honduras handed over an alleged drug trafficker to the United States on Tuesday under a bilateral extradition treaty that remains in effect after a diplomatic rift between leftist President Xiomara Castro and Washington was resolved, the Honduran Police reported.

José Sosa, a 48-year-old Honduran national, was transferred from the Támara National Penitentiary in the capital to Palmerola Airport, located about 50 km north of Tegucigalpa, according to an official statement.

“He was handed over to U.S. authorities under strict security measures,” the statement added.

The police explained that the suspected drug trafficker was wanted by a federal court in Florida on cocaine trafficking charges. His extradition was approved on April 30, 2020, but he had to serve a sentence in Honduras for illegal possession of firearms before being transferred to the U.S., the report said.

Central America

Nicaraguan Naval Force seizes cocaine on Pacific Coast, suspects escape

The Nicaraguan Army’s Naval Force reported on Tuesday the seizure of two bundles containing 80 packages of cocaine along the Pacific coast, although none of the four suspects were apprehended.

The illicit substance was seized near the Quizalá beach, in the municipality of San Rafael del Sur, Managua department. According to the military report, the four suspects “fled, leaving the drugs behind” after “detecting the presence of Army troops.”

The two “red bundles (…) contained 80 rectangular packages of cocaine,” the Nicaraguan Army stated.

The operation was conducted by the First Naval Troop Battalion “Commander Richard Lugo Kautz,” part of the Naval Force.

Authorities did not provide details on the individuals connected to the drug haul or the weight of the cocaine seized. They confirmed that the drugs were handed over to the relevant authorities for legal proceedings.

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Nicaraguan authorities emphasize that they are implementing a strategy called the ‘Containment Wall,’ aimed at preventing the movement of drugs or drug-related money into populated areas. They maintain “close cooperation” with regional countries as well as the United States, Mexico, and Russia.

Nicaragua is located along a major drug trafficking corridor from South America to North America, where Mexican cartels operate, and the primary consumers are located.