Panama Canal on hold over 'handout' smears

The ratification of the three nominees for the board of the Panama  Canal Authority, by President Juan Carlos Varela, has been put on hold by the National Assembly  ratification  Committee.

The naming of the current Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint-Malo; the Ambassador of Panama in Washington, Emanuel González Revilla; and the Minister of the Presidency, Jorge González, have been viewed as political handouts and have been widely criticized.

Their nominations will be processed by the Credentials Committee once it finishes with the ratification of the appointed the Supreme Court, Olmedo Arrocha and Abel Augusto Zamorano, Newsroom Panama reports.