Varela announced case against Epasa that does not appear in public ministry

Questioned by a journalist about the threat of closure that has been leveled against media group Epasa, President Juan Carlos Varela did not deny the allegation. Yet the president chose to defer to the public ministry and avoid interfering with the alleged investigation.

Oddly enough, the public ministry itself did not take long to distance itself from the president's assertions, claiming that no such investigation is under way against Epasa.

The situation raises obvious questions as to why the president should be aware of the work supposedly carried out at the Atty. general's office; as well as why he should declare that a non-existent investigation is under way.

Following a number of reports in the local press, pointing to a possible closure of the three newspapers of the Epasa Group - Panama America, Crítica and Día a Día - all President Varela had to say was: 'this is a matter for the public ministry, not something I handle'.

According to constitutional lawyer Silvio Guerra, this case once again highlights the thorny issue of judicial independence in Panama: “No judicial independence can exist in an autocracy disguising as a democracy”.

A spokesman for the Cambio Democratico (CD) party, Luis Eduardo Camacho, went further, attacking President Varela’s penchant for interfering in judicial cases: 'Varela has recognized that

there is an attempt to shut Epasa down. He will rely on his chief political persecutor Isolda, the Atty. general, to execute it', he denounced.

According to Mr. Camacho, the Independent Movement for Panama (Movin) is the force behind this latest plot against Epasa: it, in connivance with the government, has the final objective controlling all media outlets in Panama.

Movin itself started as a political movement aimed at supporting then-candidate Varela in 2014. The group has been launching direct attacks against Epasa through social media channels.

A series of reports that Epasa media ran on supposed irregularities linking Movin to a number of cases can't have gone down well with its leaders. The group has been accused of interfering in the process of selection of new magistrates for the Supreme Court, as well as of gaining access to confidential information on legal cases being investigated by anti-corruption magistrates.

Mr. Camacho also denounced pressures that competing media have received from the government.

In his twitter account, the CD party representative pointed out that the administration is trying to gain control of newspapers La Estrella de Panama and El Siglo. Businessman Abdul Waked, majority owner of the newspapers, earlier went on record stating that he had been approached by government figures interested in purchasing his media businesses.

Former President Ricardo Martinelli denounced the government's plan to force the closure of critical media after the inauguration of the Panama Canal this June 26 is over.