Another black eye for Panama from WikiLeaks drugs allegations

Panama’s main opposition party has called for the removal from office of the head of the country’s tourism czar following Wikileaks disclosures that the former U.S. Ambassador suspected  links to drug traffickers.

Members of the governing administration, including Vice President Juan Carlos Varela have leapt to the defence of Colombian born Salomon Shamah, who heads the country's tourism authority. Former American ambassador Barbara Stephenson had said in a cable she considered  he had "'suspected links with drug traffickers " says a La Estrella report.

Varela, described as 'unfair' the findings revealed by WikiLeaks. 'We trust in the minister Shamah, in his work and management', he told RPC Radio.
The secretary general of the Democratic Revolutionary Party(PRD)  Mitchell Doens, demanded that Shamah be removed from office for investigation by the Public Ministry (MP).
'The least he should do is give an explanation to the country, and secondly, the MP, if it wants to be an independent institution should investigate him follow due process', Doens said.
Doens, who heads the opposition said that the MP should act as it did in the investigation of former President Perez Balladares, where the investigation was initiated following newspaper revelations (La Prensa)
Reports of the ambassadorial cables concerning Shamah were carried On Saturday, January 18 in El Siglo, and the story was the main lead in La Estrella on Sunday, but a search could find no reference in La Prensa.  {jathumbnail off}