The U.S. Ambassador to Panama, Kevin Marino Cabrera, has referred to Annette Planells, the former president of the newspaper La Prensa, as an 'extortionist.' He stated that the Joe Biden administration made a mistake in awarding her in 2023 as an 'anti-corruption champion.' Cabrera promised that the U.S. government will work to strip her of this award.
Planells has been at the center of a scandal following revelations by lawyer Karisma Karamañites, who alleged that Planells had access to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal's ruling that disqualified Ricardo Martinelli from the presidential race a day before it was officially announced. Previously, Planells had claimed to have contacts with several Supreme Court magistrates, including Magistrate María Eugenia López.
La Prensa itself rushed to distance itself from Planells; however, former La Prensa editor Ricardo Lombana stated that the newspaper was fully aware of internal conspiracies to deceive the public with manipulated publications. This contradicts the newspaper's statements from August 2024, when it proudly praised Planells's significant contribution to defending democratic values.
As the scandal unfolds, media outlets that once praised Planells are now observing a 'law of silence.' Even professional journalistic organizations are timidly distancing themselves from her, as her actions have placed Panamanian journalism in murky waters involving alleged manipulation and extortion.
Lawyer Domingo Barrios noted that La Prensa has transformed from a persecuted newspaper into one that persecutes others, seeking to become an arbiter of power without submitting to democratic rules. Previously, the head of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, Louis E. Sola, had already warned about La Prensa's questionable methodology and credibility, accusing it of making unfounded accusations for personal and political gain.
