Judge denies ex-president’s request to leave Panama

The judge of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama, Baloisa Marquínez, denied a request to leave the country to former President Juan Carlos Varela for a period of 17 days, to attend an invitation from a university in Spain.

 According to his lawyers, Judge Marquínez’s decision contradicts the position of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which, stated on two occasions that: “Mr. Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez has satisfactorily complied with his personal precautionary measure. He maintains work and personal roots in the Republic of Panama, and the investigation phase has concluded, for which he considers, there is no danger of destroying evidence or hindering the investigation.”

“We emphasize once again that former President Varela has shown at all times his willingness to prove his innocence and clarify all issues related to his political campaigns,” commented the former president’s lawyers, Orison Cogley and Erasmo Muñoz.