![]() In one of the leaked diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, he is accused of hiding evidence regarding donations to Martinelli's election campaign by David Murcia, a Colombian money launderer and Ponzi schemer now incarcerated in the United States. As a drug prosecutor, he had been suspended by her as a myriad of complaints and charges against him were being investigated. After the invasion, Moncada Luna was appointed director of the PTJ - the Panamanian equivalent of the FBI - and then fired by Attorney General Sossa for misconduct.Īlmengor, in his turn, had his own axe to grind with Ana Matilde Gomez. The latter had been a key figure in the Ministry of Government and Justice under Manuel Antonio Noriega, during some of the most violent and repressive episodes of that regime. ![]() First, Martinelli appointed two loyalists as Supreme Court Magistrates, José Abel Almengor and Alejandro Moncada Luna. What's more, how would he be able to rule the country without controlling the Public Ministry and the Judiciary? But Martinelli, obsessed with El Toro and uninterested in such details like the rule of law and due process, would not wait. But she wouldn't do that without building a bullet-proof case against him first, as she had seen yet too many high-profile cases been buried or stalled by a thoroughly corrupt Supreme Court. He had called her, sometimes several times per day, to demand that she throw one of his political and business foes, ex-president Ernesto "el Toro" Perez Balladares in jail for corruption. When he took office, President Ricardo Martinelli had made his mind up: Gomez had to leave. ![]() This kind of behavior is unacceptable in Panama, and this, together with the fact that she listened more to the technocrats that surrounded her than to those with a better sense for how the winds of politics and public opinion were blowing would cost her dearly. She took on more high-profile corruption cases than anyone before her. While she did give in to political pressure every now and then, she, contrary to her predecessors, could not be bribed. She made it a point to act seriously against corruption inside the Public Ministry. She had a spotless track record, and had worked as the legal counsel of the Truth Commission that investigated the crimes of the President's father. When Ana Matilde Gomez was appointed as Attorney General by Martin Torrijos, many were surprised. He had not counted with the possibility of a leak. But Antinori had overlooked one thing, one thing that would come back to haunt him. Suspicions, yes, but nothing that anyone could put his finger on. Nobody had noticed what was really going on. Antinori, the strategist, had designed the plan, anticipated every move, prepared responses to whatever Gomez and her supporters, from the media to civil society, could possibly come up with. Headed by lawyer and former ombudsman Italo Antinori, they had met in secret, and meticulously plotted the downfall of their target, the attorney general. And of course the members of PAMAGO, the secretive group of supreme court magistrates, government officials and lawyers that had made it all happen. ![]() Guiseppe Bonissi was the new man in charge. Ana Matilde Gomez, the attorney general, had been sacked. Finally they could unwind, relax, relieve some of the tension, now that the mission had been accomplished. THE party lasted into the wee hours of the next morning, with plenty of wine, whiskey, tequila and rum. Italo Antinori, PAMAGO conspirator and strategist
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