Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez is accused of participating in the Odebrecht scandal, exchanging bribes for contracts.
The United States has banned former Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez from entering the country “due to his involvement in significant corruption” while in office.
The announcement, made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accused Varela of accepting bribes in exchange for awarding government contracts.
“This designation reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the fight against endemic corruption in Panama,” Blinken said in his statement.
“We hope today’s action will prompt elected representatives and authorities in Panama to confront entrenched corruption and empower all those who stand up for the rule of law.”
Varela is one of two Panamanian presidents accused of money laundering in the long-running Odebrecht scandal, which has implicated politicians in nearly a dozen Latin American countries.
Named for the Brazilian construction company at the center of the case, the Odebrecht scandal involved officials who allegedly collected bribes while they donated large public works contracts.
While in office, Varela was embroiled in scandal, with lawyer and former adviser Ramon Fonseca Mora accusing him of accepting bribes from Odebrecht as “donations”.
“President Varela told me – I may be struck by lightning if I lie – that he accepted donations from Odebrecht because he could not oppose everything,” Fonseca told reporters in 2017.
At the time, Varela, a former businessman, was in the middle of his five-year term in office, which ran from 2014 to 2019. He denied any wrongdoing.
Previously, Varela – the scion of one of Panama’s wealthiest families, famous for its rum brand – served as vice president under fellow conservative Ricardo Martinelli.
But the two men clashed, and in 2011, Martinelli stripped Varela of the second position he held as minister of foreign affairs.
Martinelli is also accused of participating in the Odebrecht case, among other allegations. His two sons, Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares, are both serving prison sentences in the US for their roles in the money-laundering scandal.
In addition, the elder Martinelli was extradited from the US in 2018 on accusations that he used public money to spy on political opponents and journalists. He was acquitted in 2021, with the Panamanian court ruling that there was insufficient evidence.
Martinelli, his sons and Varela are set to go on trial for their alleged roles in the Odebrecht case. They are forbidden to leave Panama.
In Thursday’s press release, Secretary of State Blinken highlighted the deep costs such a scandal could have.
“Corruption unjustifiably deprives the people of Panama of quality public services such as schools, hospitals, and roads, harming their economic prospects and their quality of life,” he wrote.
“Unaddressed, corruption will continue to undermine Panama’s prosperity, undermine its democracy, and prevent it from realizing its full potential.”
