The United States prohibits the entry of former Panamanian president Juan Carlos Valera for corruption

First modification: 07/14/2023 – 03:57

4 min

The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, reported Thursday that Juan Carlos Varela, former president of Panama between 2014 and 2019, was declared ineligible to enter the country due to his involvement in significant acts of corruption, in which he is also implicated former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014).

“Today I announce the designation of former Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez as ineligible to enter the United States, due to his involvement in important corruption cases,” Blinken said in a statement. statement issued by the Department of State.

The US ban on Varela reinforces that country’s commitment to the fight against corruption in Latin America. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of addressing this entrenched issue and called for empowering those who defend the rule of law.

The investigation in Panama began in 2015 and was initially archived and later reopened in 2017, after Odebrecht’s admission of bribery in a dozen countries.

In July 2017, the construction company reached an agreement with the Panamanian Prosecutor’s Office to pay a fine of 220 million dollars to the State, but to date it has not been fully complied with.

Next August, the trial against Varela, Martinelli and 34 other people accused of money laundering in the Odebrecht case will begin in Panama. This judicial process is crucial for the fight against corruption in the country, since it seeks to establish jurisprudence.

The Brazilian construction company Odebrecht has been accused of paying bribes to officials and politicians in several countries in exchange for public works contracts.

The repercussions in Panama

The research revealed an alleged link between the former Panamanian president and this construction firm. The findings, based on evidence and testimony collected by prosecutors and control agencies, generated a political and legal flight in the country.

Testimony from several former Odebrecht executives and leaked documents provided details about their alleged corrupt activities. It is alleged that Varela received millions in payments in exchange for granting favorable public contracts to the Brazilian company, providing him with protection and facilities during his presidential administration.

The investigations also revealed the existence of a corruption network that would involve senior officials of the Varela government, as well as businessmen and lawyers from the country. They also reported that this network operated through complex financial structures and shell companies, making it difficult to identify and track illicit money flows.

The repercussions of this scandal have been reflected in the Panamanian political landscape. Many citizens expressed their outrage and demanded a thorough and transparent investigation. Likewise, various sectors of civil society urged the authorities to take decisive action to eradicate corruption.

A case of corruption that transcends borders

This news comes days after the Colombian prosecutor’s office charged former presidential candidate Oscar Iván Zuluaga for his alleged involvement in the Odebrecht corruption scandal. He is accused of receiving illegal payments from the Brazilian company during his presidential campaign in 2014.

According to the investigation, Zuluaga would have accepted an illegal contribution of 1.61 million dollars from Odebrecht, without reporting it to the electoral authorities. The investigation reveals that Zuluaga and his campaign team met with former Odebrecht executives in Brazil and Colombia, agreeing on a financial contribution to cover the services of a publicist.

In total, the scandal is estimated to have spanned around a dozen countries, including Panama, Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, among others. In each of these countries, cases of officials and politicians receiving bribes were revealed.

Odebrecht, one of the largest engineering and construction companies in Latin America, was embroiled in a massive corruption scandal in 2011, when it was discovered that it had bribed officials in several countries to obtain public contracts. Since then, numerous investigations have been carried out in various countries in the region with the aim of identifying those involved and bringing them to justice.

The transnational scope of the corruption case has generated great repercussions and has led to a series of investigations and legal proceedings throughout the region.

With information from Reuters, EFE and local media