President nixes land squabble between former loyalists

THE ESCALATING friction between two former prominent members of the ruling Panama cabinet over land titles in Juan Hombron has received a dose of cold water from President Ricardo Martinelli.

Martinelli said the friction between Demetrio Papadimitriu, former Minister of the Presidency, and Alberto Vallarino, former Minister of Finance is unwarranted because "they are fighting over something that is not theirs." He said the land belongs to the government and that it will be used for a naval base and ecological park.

During the war of words, with Papadimitriu giving a lengthy interview to La Estrella, other observers claimed the land belonged to neither the warring claimants nor the government, but to “the poor children of Panama” to whom it had been left by a wealthy American whose widow has been opposing the will in court. 

In the interview,Papadimitriu who suddenly resigned after  the "Juan Hombros land scandal"  surfaced, said  he had not spoken to Martinell in months, and still regarded him as a friend but didn't know how the president regarded him

The Juan Hombros case  led to charges being laid against  Annabelle Villamonte a lawyer working for the Papadimitriu family. She was later appointed as director of the land titling authority (Anati) but forced to resign, over another titling scandal. She was charged and acquitted in both cases. She is now under investigation in a third titling scandal.
Meanwhile The president said that the former ministers should not be fighting as these lands belong to the Panamanian people.
Papadimitriu's parents were shareholders in companies that gained titles to 14 farms in the coastal area of Juan Hombron which are involved in a court battle with the company Hacienda Santa Monica, of which Alberto Vallarino is a shareholder.
Both groups have said they are prepared for a legal battle over the area.