US Ambassador Cabrera Calls Former ‘La Prensa’ Director Annette Planells an “Extortionist” – Planells Tries to Save her Skin

The United States ambassador to Panama, Kevin Marino Cabrera, called Annette Planells, the former president and former director of the newspaper La Prensa, an “extortionist”.  Through the X account, Cabrera asserted that Planells was “exposed through blackmail and electoral interference,” referring to the events that link her to attempts to sabotage President José Raúl Mulino’s candidacy.  The diplomat strongly criticized the recognition that the State Department, under the administration of Joe Biden, gave her in December 2023 as an “Anti-corruption Champion”.  

According to Cabrera, that honor turned into dishonor, and he pointed out that it completely distorted the objective of the award.  “She never deserved an award; we will work to take it away from her, ” Cabrera emphasized, making it clear that the new US diplomatic line is focused on “real collaborations, strong policies and true accountability,” without empty awards that end up distorting the fight against corruption.  The ambassador’s message adds to growing international concern about the integrity of anti-corruption awards, as Panama closely watches how US foreign policy is beginning to make clear differences with previous administrations.  

Planells Tries to Save her Skin with Sola After Being Called an Extortionist!

Ambassador Cabrera questioned the anti-corruption champion award given to Annette in the Biden administration. Annette Planells has appeared and is trying to portray herself as embroiled in a scandal due to her anti-corruption crusade. Planells has found in Louis Sola what she considers her lifeline.  According to Planells, the publications of La Prensa, the newspaper that now disavows her, against the former president of the United States Federal Maritime Commission have taken their toll and have made her appear to Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera as an extortionist.  She said not a word about the revelations of lawyer Karisma Karamañites regarding her privileged access to rulings before everyone else, and her contacts with magistrates of the Supreme Court and the Electoral Tribunal. 

Sola’s letter, dated October 2024, was addressed to Antony Blinken, then U.S. Secretary of State. Marco Rubio, the current Secretary of State, took office in January 2025, three months later. He would have had ample time to consider the matter, even though the letter wasn’t addressed to him.  But it is now, with the Karamañites Leaks having broken, that the United States is speaking out. And it is doing so because of these serious accusations of alleged election rigging, extortion, and interference, and not because of the letter, as Planells tries to suggest .  “That accusation comes after a letter sent by Louis Sola,” Planells said.  So much so, that a year and two months have passed.  In the letter, Sola questions Planells ‘ methodology and credibility, and also highlights her alleged pro-Chinese campaign, but does not mention electoral interference. 

While Sola referred to the navy in Amador, which Planells tries to blame for her fall from grace, he also emphasized La Prensa’s coverage of the Chinese issue during the Varela administration. The conspiracy to derail candidacies was not mentioned in the letter.  On Wednesday, Cabrera questioned the anti-corruption champion award given to Annette during the Biden administration. According to the ambassador, this policy failure during the Biden era only served to undermine the award’s mission.  Cabrera asserted that, under President Donald Trump’s administration, empty accolades are over and the focus is on serious work: stronger collaborations, stronger policies, and true accountability.  “She never deserved an award; we will work to take it away from her,” the ambassador emphasized.

US Ambassador Cabrera: ‘Biden Crowned an Extortionist, Annette Planells’

Two Decembers ago, Annette Planells celebrated her award as the newly crowned anti-corruption champion, presented by then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  Today, in 2025, Planells’s mask has fallen, and the US government wants no ties to “an extortionist.”   This is the term that the United States Ambassador to Panama, Kavin Marino Cabrera, has fearlessly used to refer to Planells. He also warned that his government will work to strip her of this undeserved award, which has now become a disgrace.  “Ill-gotten honors turn into disgrace: Biden’s State Department crowned an extortionist, Annette Planells, as its ‘Anti-Corruption Champion.’ Now she has been exposed for blackmail and election interference,” Cabrera noted. 

According to the diplomat, the award that Planells received in December 2023 is a failure in the politics of the Joe Biden era and only served to distort the mission of the award.  He warned that, under President Donald Trump, empty acknowledgments are over and the focus is on serious work: stronger collaborations, stronger policies, and true accountability.  “She never deserved an award, we will work to take it away from her,” the US ambassador concluded.  This is not the first time Planells has been on the radar of the U.S. government. Last year, the then-chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), Louis E. Sola, had raised concerns about her ‘methodology and credibility’.  He had also recommended caution when interacting with the newspaper La Prensa, due to its history of making unfounded accusations to gain personal and political advantage.