Key Witnesses Fail to Appear in Odebrecht Case in Panama

The absence of key witnesses has become a central issue in the Odebrecht case trial in Panama. The situation repeated itself with the protected witness, Olmedo Méndez Tribaldos, and also with Brazilian citizens, whose whereabouts are unknown. Representatives of the Ministry of Public Security admitted they were unable to secure the appearance of the protected witness, a similar scenario that occurred with the Brazilians. Lawyer Alfredo Vallarino also demanded that if a trial is to be held, it must be with justice: "What is this hiding of witnesses and experts? What kind of trial can we have without witnesses?" Meanwhile, Damaris Rodríguez, the witness requested by nearly a dozen lawyers in the Odebrecht case, ignored all calls from the Tribunal to appear at the hearing. When judicial officials contacted the number provided by the Police, a person identified as Ubaldo Barría answered. Previously, the prosecution failed in its attempt to bring Olmedo Méndez Tribaldos, the protected witness FEA-FECDO-0001-2020, and the Brazilians to court. Although the summons was delivered to the Human Resources department of the National Police, personnel from that department noted that Rodríguez is retired and no longer part of the institution. Barría claimed to be a lawyer and friend of Damaris, although he emphasized that he also did not know her location. This week, the date for the opening arguments was set, but due to the impossibility of locating Damaris Rodríguez, the former National Police member who filed key reports in the case, the process faces significant hurdles. However, Rodríguez is not the first key figure to fail to appear. In Méndez Tribaldos's case, the alleged collaborator with the MP left the prosecutors waiting, for which he was fined. A contradictory situation, considering that expert Eliseo Ábrego and Antonio Lim himself are also retired, however, this was not an impediment for them to attend the trial. In this sense, Vallarino lamented that the prosecution never made efforts to bring them to Panama. "If you carry out a process in which you state that they are going to be trial collaborators to bring information, but you don't bring them, you are making a mockery of a trial," he added. "Is this the kind of justice we want to support?" asked lawyer Alfredo Vallarino. "He said he does not know her whereabouts and that he is also trying to locate her due to the information circulating on television and social networks," the tribunal communicated. Lawyers have warned that the reports filed by her should not be considered, and they will make this clear during the arguments phase. "This is not unique to her," he asked. The failure to locate key witnesses marked the testimonial and expert phase of the ordinary hearing in the Odebrecht case, a situation that has generated important questioning among the lawyers.