Has Papadimitriu resigned or not?

Does the government’s left hand  not know what the powerful right hand is doing, or did Panama’s oldest newspaper get the story wrong?

That was the question circulating in political circles on Friday, July 13 after La Estrella  gave banner front page headlines to the news that Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitrui a close ally of President Ricardo Martinelli had submitted his resignation.

Estrella carried the full text of the resigination on Friday ,but later in the morning Martinelli denied all knowledge of the letter.

 During an official ceremony in Sixaola, on Friday Martinelli said he left his residence for the airport for travel  to the province of Bocas del Toro where he and the  president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla opened a bridge over the river Sixaola.

The Secretary of State's  spokesperson Luis Eduardo Camacho accompanying Martinelli was equally uninformed. "We have not seen anything  [of the  resignation] " he said.

The La Estrella story said the Papadimitriu, one of the people closest to the President, had resigned unexpectedly without giving a reason.
The Papadimitriu name has been linked to the land titling scandal in Juan Hombros, and the former  Anati (Land Registry) Director  Anabelle Villamonte whose acquittal is under appeal. She is also awaiting trial on charges over the free titling of land in Paitilla.

A previous resignation by Security Minister  Raul Molino said to be “irrevocable” was withdrawn.

No Presidential “Twitter” messages relating to Papadimtriu have surfaced. If La Estrella is correct it will have "scooped"  the La Prensa  investigative team that has been playing hound dog with the Martinelli administration.