Gomez suspension leading to cross border tensions

The case of Panama’s suspended Attorney General, Ana Matilde Gomez is drawing attention from across the American continent.
The latest spat involves Costa Rica where Francisco Dall’Anese, Costa Rica’s attorney general, is reported to have branded as false, statements by President Ricardo Martinelli about the prosecutor’s frequent trips to Panama.

According to the newspaper La Nacion, Dall’Anese stressed that in speaking on the suspension of Panama’s Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez he was acting as spokesman for the Latin American Association of Public Prosecutors (Ailamp), which expressed concern about autonomy that prosecutors should have.

The friction between the president of Panama and the Costa Rican started in January, when given the forum in the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede), analyzed the case of Gomez and its constitutional implications.

The Panamanian president said that the prosecutor has traveled 65 times in the past two years to Panama