From Awarded to Exiled: The Annette Planells Scandal in Panama

According to the publication, Planells, who had once enjoyed the glory that comes with international recognition for her 'supposed' efforts for a better country, has now been reduced to an extortionator for owning Foco and Movin. 'Extortionator' is how the U.S. Embassy called Annette Planells in its official accounts. In fact, Karamañites starts her post by pouring salt on Planells' wound, repeating Cabrera's claims on X, which were then reposted by the embassy's networks. Moreover, the lawyer includes a video from Medcom, a channel where Planells was a frequent panelist, celebrating the distinction the activist received in 2023 from the U.S. government. Annette Planells, owner of MOVIN and FOCO, was awarded by the U.S. during the Biden administration for her work in anti-corruption... but the U.S. embassy is going to revoke it, as they have labeled her an extortionator. In a previous interview, Karamañites stated that Foco, the digital medium led by Planells, resorted to extorting politicians and businessmen as a funding method. For Karamañites, 'the real sense of this conversation' is to find out 'who was receiving the money that Foco demanded for the extortions, how Annette used La Prensa as a key piece to generate news with half-truths and then ask for money in exchange,' she questioned. 'Who worked at Movin and why didn't Annette do anything knowing that Mauricio (Valenzuela, the public face of Foco) always abused his female employees,' continued the lawyer. It turns out that Planells was not only president of La Prensa, but also part of its board of directors, which, after this scandal broke, decided to distance itself from its former executive and mark a distance from the actions she took. Additionally, the lawyer also announced that 'apparently, Annette Planells, Luis Esquivel Golcher, Mauricio Valenzuela, Daniel Lopera (all members of Foco) will have their U.S. visas revoked.' In her video, Karamañites states that digital media outlets are the ones that have flooded social networks with the Planells case and laments that 'traditional media has questioned this media extortion network very little.' This decision comes after Kevin Cabrera, the U.S. Ambassador to Panama, used harsh qualifiers against Planells, calling her an 'extortionator.' 'A person who was once called a global champion against corruption,' Karamañites ironized. 'We have a silent, complex, and dark story that will surely continue to give us secrets,' Karamañites predicted in closing her post. We know they see everything, now…