THE US State Department said yesterday former Panama president Juan Carlos Varela was blacklisted from entering the United States due to “involvement in significant corruption.”

The State Department said during his terms as vice president and then president of Panama over 2009-2019, Varela took bribes for improperly awarding government contracts. 

Varela, along with his predecessor as president, Ricardo Martinelli, were charged in Panama last year with laundering money from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

Prosecutors accused the pair of using front companies and foreign bank accounts to receive funds from Odebrecht between 2008 and 2014.

Varela’s Panamenista party was accused of receiving US$10 million (RM45.43 million) from Odebrecht.

Varela denied the charges.

“It is our hope that today’s action will prompt Panama’s elected representatives and authorities to tackle entrenched corruption and empower all those who stand up for the rule of law,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Corruption anywhere damages the national security and economic health of the US and our allies,” Blinken said in a statement. – AFP, July 14, 2023.