RICARDO MARTINELLI, Panama’s ex authoritarian president said on Sunday December 21 that he “never forced anyone to sign" a $45 million contract to acquire dehydrated food for pupils in public schools,

His reputation bloodied by statements made to prosecutors by former PAN director Giacomo Tamburell,i by reports of corruption trials in Italy linking his administration to multi-million bribery allegations and by allegations of a secret account in the Financial Pacific brokerage used to manipulate Petaquilla Gold shares, Martinelli, faced by media questions remained unbowed.
Widely published reports of schoolchildren being taken ill after receiving expired food products containing what appeared to be glass were brushed aside and the pugnacious super-market owner went on the attack.
He said that The current President Juan Carlos Varela knows well what happened in this case, since Varela, when he was his vice president in the lastvgovernment administration, was always at his side.

"There is no bad food, but political curiosity," Said Martinelli.
 Although out of office he remains leader of the Democratic Change (CD, the party he founded and funded and on Sunday was on the campaign trail to in the region of Tole, Chiriqui help get CD candidates re-elected after the Electoral Tribunal had found them guilty of using government funds to win their seats in the May election.
With enough CD seats in the Assembly, Martinelli could still play a spoiler role uring Varela’s term. eader of the Democratic Change (CD) , Where todayelections for the post of deputy are made.

His remarks on the schools food scandal were in response to Tamburelli’s statement to anti-corruption prosecutors that when director of the National Assistance Program, he was ordered by Martinelli (NAP) to ire the company Lerkshore International Limited, SA, for the supply of dehydrated food During the years 2010 and 2011.

Tamburrelli, under house house arrest while being investigated for the embezzlement, said that in other contracts signed by him as executive director of PAN they were approved by order of President Martinelli, even those that had some irregularity.

Later, on Sunday in Boquete, Martinelli said Tamburrelli was protecting someone, without without specifying names.

At the same time, he said he never threatened former Secretary General of the CD and director of PAN . Returning to the dehydrated food subject, Martinelli said that there is nothing wrong.

"These dehydrated meals will crystallize"