Cortés, involved in Ricardo Martinelli’s pardons

The former minister of Labor and Workforce Development, Alma Cortés, has also been involved in the judicial process of the 355 pardons given on the last day of Ricardo Martinelli’s mandate.

By then, Cortés was commanding the Ministry of Government and was in charge of signing the pardons.

The 355 pardons benefitted, among others, deputies of the then official party of Democratic Change (CD), accused of the use of the State’s resources in their political campaign.

Cortés indicated to ‘La Estrella de Panamá’ that she still hasn’t been called or notified by the authorities in relation to this case, but assured that yesterday Martinelli’s defense team, actual deputy of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), met to determine the strategy that the collective will follow in the face of the investigation.

Cortés explained that the Executive Order signed by the president with the minister of the branch was overthrown by the actual president with another decree, and they would have to examine the actual president, Juan Carlos Varela, if he had the legal and constitutional faculty to revert what his predecessor did.

The decrees of the former president suppressed penalties and exonerated the accused policemen for the massacre of minors in the Tocumen jail (2011); between 2009 and 2014 worked for the Executive and were under direct orders of Martinelli. Besides, it included leaders of the CD and ex-deputies accused of utilizing funds of the State for the reelection.

Related Article: Cortés, implicada por los indultos de Ricardo Martinelli