The U.S. Ambassador to Panama acknowledged on Thursday that his country «made a mistake» in awarding a prize for merits in the fight against corruption to activist Anette Planells, and assured that they are already working to correct it.
«This is a prize that — we said — was a mistake, and we are fixing the mistake made in giving that recognition to that person,» the ambassador declared to the press.
He added that the decision to revoke the award is not based solely on publicly known information.
«The case does not rest solely on the letter that was made public. We have much more information, part of it public and part of it not public, and we will follow it through to the end,» he stated, suggesting that Washington has additional data on this person's conduct.
The statements were made during the delivery of nearly 4,000 pounds of medicines and medical supplies to the Ministry of Health, a donation from the U.S. government intended to strengthen public health care.
The Minister of Health highlighted the cooperation: «For the government and for President José Raúl Mulino, it is an honor to receive this donation from the American government. These supplies will directly benefit the Panamanian people».
He recalled that a few days ago, both teams met at San Miguel Arcángel Hospital to review the work plans for 2026: «Today we already see the immediate response to that coordination».
The minister emphasized that this action adds to the long-standing relationship between the two countries: «The Panama Canal was built thanks to efforts like these, in which the American people worked alongside the Panamanian people to overcome enormous challenges, even sanitary ones like malaria».
According to the Ministry of Health, the types of medicines donated, their uses, and their impact on health services will be detailed later.
The ambassador made it clear that while bilateral cooperation in sensitive areas such as medicines and institutional strengthening continues, the United States will also take «all necessary measures» to correct the error made in awarding the prize: «We are going to fix it. That letter, in fact, I had not seen until the interested party published it».
