Drug links in Assembly, Security bodies, judiciary
DRUG TRAFFICKING has penetrated Panama state institutions and “half a dozen” deputies are being investigated by international agencies for allegedly moving drug money,says the president of the National Assembly.
Ruben De Leon made the statement to La Estrella de Panama on Thursday January and said that President Juan Carlos Varela had confirmed that international agencies are investigating half dozen deputies linked to moving drug money.
De Leon confirmed that a Ministry of Security official has been dismissed, and investigations into other officials are underway. The woman worked with the Safe Neighborhoods program, a clear indication of infiltration of the system and said Presidentt Juan Carlos Navarro made it clear that ‘there are other cases’.
De Leon said he was concerned how drug rings had entered the Assembly, the security agencies, the judiciary and the Public Ministry and called for the creation of a front against the ‘common enemy of Panamanians’.
On Wednesday Ernesto Arias , advisor to Deputy Jose Poveda (CD) was arrested while driving a vehicle with Deputy license plates and carrying a kilo of cocaine.
