Panama's President José Raúl Mulino made sharp statements about blackmail and extortion by the media. In response, old stories have resurfaced in the media space, where the portal Foco directly points to the president's words aimed at Álvaro Alvarado. In his defense, Alvarado did not deny the accusations and fired back at the former president of the newspaper La Prensa, leader of the Movin movement, and Medcom's anti-corruption analyst, engineer Annette Planells.
"I did it with the purpose of dedicating myself to organizing events because I had, within my plans, to leave the TV station and become independent, but that didn't bring in a single cent; on the contrary, it incurred expenses," Alvarado stated.
Alvarado denied having contacts with former President Ricardo Martinelli and said he has no relationship with Podium, the company that allegedly handles public relations or communication work for the Chinese Embassy in Panama. "If they do, that's a problem for the current dignitaries of that company," he added.
"I have always tried to keep my distance from you, Mr. Mauricio Valenzuela, Mr. Daniel Lopera, and Mrs. Annette Planells, but what you are doing today is beyond the pale; you are lying once again," Alvarado began his rebuttal.
The journalist warned that he will turn to his lawyers, as Foco will have to prove his connection with the aforementioned company, with Ricardo Martinelli, and that he handles communication for the Chinese embassy.
Alvarado asserts that no one has accused him of extortion or of receiving 500 thousand dollars, and that, in his opinion, Foco's goal is to distract.
In turn, the Foco portal brought up the story of the company Podium, S.A., in which, according to them, the journalist's wife was together with Blandón Sr., and that this was the reason for his departure from Medcom when they discovered the huge tariffs he was using with the signal from Channel 13.
Former deputy Levy stated in a publication that Foco tried to extort her for 10 thousand dollars.
U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera described Planells as an extortionist and stated that the U.S. seeks to withdraw the distinction of "Champion Against Corruption" awarded during the Joe Biden administration in 2023.
