Edisa Batista Charged with Embezzlement in Panama

The plaintiff's lawyer from Conades, Navilla Bravo, identified Batista as the alleged perpetrator of the crime of aggravated embezzlement. A hearing was held in the Accusatory Penal System (SPA) of Santiago to charge, legalize the apprehension, and apply precautionary measures against Edisa Batista. During the administration of Juan Carlos Varela, this citizen acted as a legal advisor for the program of the National Council for Sustainable Development (Conades). The arrested woman was taken to Santiago because the matter under investigation occurred in the district of Soná, province of Veraguas. According to the information revealed in the judicial hearing, Batista has an extensive background in public contracting processes and has held roles in several state entities. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, through prosecutor Elvis Coronado, presented the judge of guarantees, Anayansi Vásquez, with the grounds that support the ongoing investigation. After considering the arguments presented by the parties, Judge Vásquez chose to charge with the crime of aggravated embezzlement, legalized the apprehension, and ordered as a precautionary measure that the accused report periodically on the 30th of each month and that she cannot leave the country. According to the information provided, the accused is linked to the alleged non-compliance with a state project during the Varela government, through which an entrepreneur of Asian origin was supposed to build basic sanitation units for different communities. The court established a six-month deadline for the development of the investigations. According to what her father, lawyer Miguel Batista, commented, the operation that took place on Friday at his daughter's house in the capital 'was not carried out optimally.' The contract, estimated at approximately half a million dollars, would not have been carried out as agreed. During the hearing, Edisa Batista was represented by her brother, lawyer Porfirio Batista, and by her father, Miguel Batista, who questioned the way in which the capture operation was carried out. The authorities continue to gather information to clarify the responsibilities surrounding a project that sought to improve the living conditions of households in vulnerable communities in Veraguas. He expressed that the detention occurred under conditions that, in his opinion, were unnecessarily abrupt.