Former Panamanian President Varela declares himself “honest” and transparent after the US veto.

The former president of Panama Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) affirmed this Thursday that he was a president “honest” and managed with “transparency more than 20,000 million dollars“in works, thus rejecting the decision of USA to ban him from entering the country for corruption.

“As president of the Republic of Panama, I transparently managed more than 20,000 million dollars in works that today serve the Panamanian people. I was an honest president of a dignified and sovereign country”, assured Varela in a message on Twitter.

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“I will do everything I have to do to defend my honor and that of my family.”, added the former president, who addressed his message to the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenwho announced today the appointment of Varela as “ineligible” to enter the US

Blinken justified the measure because, as he explained, during his period as president and vice president Varela “accepted bribes in exchange for improperly awarding government contracts”.

Thus, said the Secretary of State, the decision on the former president “reaffirms US commitment to combat endemic corruption in Panama”, and hopes that the measure “push officials and authorities in Panama to address entrenched corruption and empower all those who uphold the rule of law”.

Varela thus joined the former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), and two of his sons, Richard Albert and Luis Enriquewho are prohibited from entering USA since last January for the same reason.

The four are implicated in the Odebrecht bribery case in Panama and will have to face, together with around thirty people, a money laundering trial that is expected to begin next August after a long and troubled process that began in 2015.

Martinelli’s two sons were jailed for the Odebrecht case in the United States, where they pleaded guilty to laundering 28 million dollars and having carried out bribes in favor of the Brazilian company “by father’s orders”, as alleged by his defense.

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The US Embassy in Panama stressed that the “designations“de Varela and Martinelli reaffirm the commitment of the United States”to combat corruption worldwide, since corruption anywhere in the world threatens national and economic security” of the North American country and its allies.

“Corruption decreases the well-being and prosperity of the population by reducing the resources available to cover needs such as schools, hospitals and roads.”, he sentenced.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.