The Superior Prosecutor's Office for Primary Attention of the First Judicial Circuit admitted a criminal complaint against former President of the Republic Juan Carlos Varela, former Attorney General of the Nation Kenya Porcell, and former Director of the Security Council, Rolando Picuiro López, which reopens one of the most controversial chapters on the abuse of state power during the previous administration. The action was presented by lawyer Roiz Navarro on behalf of the Chiriquí businessman Germán Eliecer Chanis, within the file linked to the so-called Operation Empire 507, a process that raised questions about pressures, plea agreements, and the political management of justice. Navarro confirmed that the complaint was admitted for alleged crimes of organized crime, trafficking of influences, and conduct against the administration of justice, directly pointing to those who, according to him, would have used the state apparatus to twist judicial processes. "We have received with great hope and satisfaction the notification from the Prosecutor's Office on the admission of this criminal complaint against figures who handled the political and judicial power of the country," stated the lawyer. The jurist warned that this decision is not a mere formality, but a direct blow to the narrative of legality with which the files were handled during the Varela government. In his opinion, the admission must lead to the review and possible nullity of the plea agreements signed with young Panamanians and businessmen within the framework of Empire 507. "We are talking about sentences that were built under a scheme of institutional pressure. If justice is coherent, this must end in the nullity of those agreements," Navarro stated. The lawyer was notified this Monday along with a group of people who consider themselves affected by the handling of the case, who now hope that the Public Ministry does not turn the file into another dead file issue. The complaint once again puts the Varela administration and its security and criminal prosecution team under scrutiny, in a context where citizens continue to demand that justice not be used as a political weapon or as an instrument of revenge. With this admission, the Prosecutor's Office is obliged to investigate whether from the Presidency, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Security Council, the judicial system was manipulated to fabricate culprits, shield interests, or settle accounts from power.
