Mulino and Varela Clash Again; President Says He Will Resume Use of Radars

While accusing Juan Carlos Varela of ‘opening the doors to drug trafficking’ by paralyzing the radar project, President José Raúl Mulino announced that he would call for an international tender for the acquisition of security equipment. 

The issue of coastal radars returns to the center of national discussion with accusations between President José Raúl Mulino and former President Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) about who was responsible for weakening the fight against drug trafficking in Panama. 

Mulino was arrested in late 2015 as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement in the direct purchase of 19 radars in 2010 from the Italian company Selex, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica.