Martinelli bomb lists 11 hour pub crawl while in Rome

PRESIDENT Martinelli’ promised atomic bomb" was the presentation of a letter from Italian authorities detailing "minute by minute" what the president did during his visit to Rome in June.

 It did not – according to the Secretary of State Communication – include any meeting with convicted businessman Valter Lavítola.

In a Wednesday November 20 press conference at the Palacio de las Garzas, Minister of the Presidency Roberto Henríquez and presidential spokesman Luis Eduardo Camacho showed the letter – both in its original version in Italian and also translated into Spanish – and lashed out at "the opposition daily" La Prensa "for doing great damage to the country and creating a climate of confrontation.
Reports in La Prensa said prosecutors in Naples and Rome have evidence that Maritnelli visited Lavitola, who is under house arrest for arranging bribes paid by Italian companies.
Spanish journalist Juan Solés was also quoted by La Prensa as having evidence that the meeting took place, and he said he was threatened by Lavitola for publishing it.
In today's press conference, the officials discredited Solés, calling him a "disreputable journalist."
Solés had reported on the case to listeners of Radio Panama.
 Henriquez insisted that the president was always accompanied by Italian security and ruled out any visit to Lavitola.
"The president was left alone only when he was in his hotel room," said Camacho, who added that press reports linking Martinelli to Lavitola "are romantic stories made by Italian and Panamanian writers."
The letter, which was sent by the Italian embassy in Panama, said that the Martinelli and his entourage arrived at the military airport in Ciampino at 3:20 p.m. June 15.
From 4 p.m. until 2:50 a.m. the next day, the group visited two bars and a restaurant. He spent the night at the Excelsior hotel and went to a UN reception at noon.
Subsequently, the group went shopping on Via Condotti and dined in a restaurant before leaving.