Singing ex-PAN boss from jail to high end hospital

THE FORMER director of the National Assistance Program (PAN) Rafael Guardia Jaén, whose testimonies in numerous cases of alleged embezzlement have implicated dozens of former government officials and businessmen, was rushed from his cell in El Renacer Prison to the Punta Pacifica Medical Center on Wednesday, July 15.

He will undergo tests, including an endoscopy and a colonoscopy after suffering rectal bleeding. Other prisoners at Renacer, including former dictator Manuel Noriega, are treated at the public hospital, Santo Tomas.
He was evaluated at the facility last week. His lawyer, Víctor Orobio, confirmed that the former official has been experiencing health issues.
“It is not a new issue, he has outlined all his conditions to the authorities,” the lawyer said.
He called on the authorities to ease the pre-trial detention measures enforced against his client due to the health issues he faces. La Guardia is facing corruption allegations during his two year reign at PAN while he salted away some $20 million in local and foreign banks,
Prior to being transferred to El Renacer he was imprisoned in La Gran Joya, where he was reported to have received death threats. After initially maintaining silence, La Guardia changed lawyers, and the floodgates opened, with fingers pointing at former president Ricardo Martinelli, and his personal secretary Chichi de Obarrio, and details of how many scams were operated along with a long list of names of perpetrators.