New details have emerged on the motives behind President Juan Carlos Varela’s thirst for vengeance against members of the former administration. In declarations that have highlighted the political logic guiding the actions of the Public Ministry, PRD Assembly Member Ivan Picota cast light on the judicial persecution of former Social Development Minister Guillermo Ferrufino. Mr. Ferrufino, seen by many as a potential candidate for the 2019 presidential contest for the Cambio Democratico (CD) party, was this week summoned to stand trial this coming August for supposed crimes against the administration. He has been in preventive detention since last year.
In a TV interview to Telemetro, a local channel, Mr. Picota asked rhetorically: “Do you know what Ferrufino’s crime was? It was to refuse then-presidential- candidate Juan Carlos Varela’s offer to run on his ticket as his vice-president. And to refuse not once, but three times! Today he is in jail as a result of that”. Mr. Picota went on to add that the President’s own brother, Jose Luis “Popi” Varela, as well as his long-time right-hand-man, Adolfo “Beby” Valderrama, both members of the National Assembly, would have confirmed Varela’s offer. “The idea to try and enlist Ferrufino in the Varela campaign came from Varela’s US campaign advisor – the latter was convinced that it made strategic sense. Ferrufino’s mistake was to say no to Varela, and to add that he himself planned to run for President in 2019”, Mr. Picota declared.
The PRD Assembly Member added his voice of condemnation for the treatment dished out to Mr. Ferrufino, as well as to his wife, who is under house arrest and has denounced multiple threats for her participation in vigils advocating freedom for her husband. “I am in favor of investigating all cases of corruption come hell or high water”, Mr. Picota explained, “but without such blatant judicial bias against the accused”, adding that “this is an unfortunate spectacle to witness in 21st century: it is regrettable that those that supposedly carry out justice, are in fact lending a hand in political persecutions and executions”.
In last Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, Mr. Ferrufino himself claimed to be a victim of political persecution, adding that he already knew that “whatever proof of my innocence I and my legal team present to this court, will be blatantly disregarded”. “I am being refused the right to a fair trial”, he stated.
In spite of President Varela’s protestations to the contrary, the executive’s hand in the handling of trials of members of the former administration is plain to see. According to political commentator, Juan Carlos Tapia, President Varela has been receiving advice on how to handle these show trials from one counsel that has become globally notorious of late: Ramon Fonseca Mora, founder of disgraced law firm Mossack Fonseca. “Fonseca Mora was the one that single- handedly most incited President Varela to throw members of the past administration in jail”, he revealed: “how ironic that the very one preaching honesty, transparency and Christian values, has turned into the source of what is probably the biggest scandal in the history of our country. It is pretty disgusting”, he added.
Yet President Varela may himself be suffering from the unwanted effects of his administration’s proclivity with summary justice. As Candice Williams, a member of the CD party, highlighted, “the President is finding it very hard to replace under-performing ministers because of the sheer amount of show trials against former cabinet ministers”. Citing the case of former minister Jose Raul Mulino – whose preventive detention by the public prosecutor was recently overruled by a judge – Ms. Williams went on to advocate that the government should investigate genuine cases of corruption instead of focusing on neutralizing political adversaries.
Her declarations echoed those made earlier this year by former president Ricardo Martinelli. In harshly critical statements, Mr. Martinelli condemned President Varela as “a persecutor that has no respect for either human or legal rights, for individual freedoms or for the Constitution”. The former president lamented that “the damage that today’s political persecution is causing everyone in Panama is probably irreparable”, while in the meantime ordinary Panamanians suffer from “more insecurity, more unemployment and an ever-higher cost of living”.
