TRACKING TRENDS

PANAMA | Corruption in the ACP. The WikiLeaks linked to the surprise resignation of the Panamanian ambassador to the US, Jaime Alemán, on 15 December, specifically raised questions over the July 2009 decision by the ACP, run by Alemán's cousin, Alberto Alemán Zubieta, to award the biggest contract under the US$5.2bn expansion plan to construct a new set of locks (worth US$3.12bn) to the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), beating off bids from two consortia led by Bechtel (US) and Spanish companies ACS Services and Acciona [WR-09-28]. Led by Spain's Sacyr Vallehermoso, the GUPC included Panama's CUSA, which is run by Rogelio Alemán - cousin of both the former ambassador and the ACP chairman. Despite efforts at the time to stress the transparency of the process, a WikiLeaks cable dated 8 January 2010 suggested otherwise; in response to a question from then US ambassador to Panama, Barbara Stephenson, Martinelli said that he feared that “Canal Administrator Alemán might have tipped the bid toward the consortium that included CUSA, which is run by his cousin Rogelio_" The same cable also noted that “senior GOP Officials have expressed doubts to the Embassy and to members of a visiting US Congressional delegation about the ability of the GUPC Consortium" while Vice-President/Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela was cited as saying that “the Canal expansion project is a disaster".

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