Arias call center said funded by Assembly

A CALL CENTER, working on behalf of the ruling CD party and funded by the National Assembly with Tourism Manager Saloman Shamah pulling the strings is the latest election dirty tricks allegation to surface.

Giancarlo Terán, a call center supervisor for the CD presidential candidate, José Domingo Arias , told La Prensa in an interview ar the Radio Panama studios that the activity is financed with funds managed by the Assembly of Deputies, where the pro-government majority and Democratic Change have absolute control.

"In the middle of a meeting the money was filtered out of the Assembly ," Teran said.
He also said that the call center, which operates with 40 people in the H2O building on Avenida Balboa, is fronted by the administrator of the Tourism Authority , with the rank of minister, Salomón Shamah, and the former Director of Immigration , María Cristina González .
Shamah, a Colombian, is a member of President Ricardo Martinelli’s inner circle and survived in his tourism role, after his US Visa was withdrawn on the eve of a Government trip to the States following a WikiLeaks report that DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) was investigating him. He has been accused as the Svengali behind alleged dirty tricks and misinformation during the Martinelli presidential election campaign.
"Salo Shamah is the center for the information received at the call center. He pulls the strings and, Maria Cristina Gonzalez distributes it to the supervisors," he said.
The call center is intended to raise the figure of Arias and highlight weaknesses of their opponents. Sometimes, they use inaccurate information.
Teran said he has worked there since 2010 and his last orders were to attack Panameñista presidential candidate Juan Carlos Varela.

Teran said he decided to speak publicly to deny that it was he who leaked a few recordings that circulate on social networks, where supposedly of Gonzalez.