Former Panama President Designated Like Saldivar

It happened to the UDP's John Saldivar in November of last year, and now the same fate has befallen a much larger regional figure - that the Former Panamanian President, Juan Carlos Varela.

The US State Department today announced his designation as "significantly corrupt". The US says Varela accepted bribes in exchange for impurely awarding government contracts during his tenure as vice president and president. He was president from 2014 to 2019.

As a consequence of this he is banned from traveling to the US - but no action has been taken against him in Panama. Same for John Saldivar who went on to win a political convention after his designation for which no criminal citron in Belize or the USA has followed.