The elected president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, presented on Thursday the bulk of his ministerial cabinetamong them, the new Minister of Security who will have the challenge of fulfilling the announced plan of close the southern border with Colombia to irregular migration.
Frank Abrego, 61 years old and who was the first director of the National Border Service (SENAFRONT), will lead that portfolio, Mulino announced when presenting most of the members of his cabinet to the press. The new government will take office on July 1.
Abrego knows very well the Darién Gap, where half a million migrants from South America crossed last year on their way to the United States, one of the greatest challenges awaiting the new Panamanian leader.
As director of Borders, Abrego promoted operations in 2009 that, according to the security authorities at the time, managed to expel a front of the extinct guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from Darién.
The designated minister explained to the press that they are developing a plan to comply with the closure of the border to irregular migration, something that, according to him, “is possible.”
“We cannot say that we are going to build a wall from end to end from the Caribbean to the Pacific, we cannot do it, it is impossible… but if in the end we announce the closure of the border tomorrow and establish the control points where we can detain these illegal migrants , and then proceed as the (elected) president announced with a repatriation or deportation, I think that will reduce the volume of migrants,” he noted.
Other expected nominations included the branches of Commerce and Industries and Economy and Finance at a time when the Central American country must complete the closure of a Canadian copper mine and faces a slowdown in the economy.
As Minister of Commerce and Industries, the elected president appointed Julio Moltó, best known for directing the National Police in the past government of President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014). Martinelli, who was unable to seek a second term in the recent elections due to a conviction for money laundering and who is seeking asylum in the Nicaraguan embassy, supported Mulino’s candidacy.
Moltó, who must lead the closure of the mine—which ceased operations last year after massive protests against it—said that he will wait for the transition process to release greater details of these plans.
Meanwhile, economist Felipe Chapman, son of Guillermo Chapman, who held the same institution from 1994 to 1998, was appointed to the Economy and Finance portfolio.
“The most pressing thing, which is no surprise to anyone, is public finances,” Chapman said. The public debt in the current government went from 26,612 million dollars to 49,769 million and payroll expenses were financed with debt, a measure that was justified by the impact of the pandemic on the country’s finances.
The situation will condition the new government to reduce operating expenses, look for new sources of income and create new jobs in the face of an unemployment rate of 7.4%.
The new minister is considered a promoter of private business and investments, which according to analysts is in line with the plans announced by the president-elect to reactivate the economy and the labor market. The Panamanian Gross Domestic Product is expected to slow its growth this year to just 2%, after rising 7.3% in 2023.
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