Organizations belonging to Panama’s Human Rights Network of Panama demanded, on Monday, March 2, that the acting  manager  of the  Ombudsman’s Office  Maribel Coco be investigated and separated from office, for her  attack on the institutionalization of human rights in the country. "

The network, made up of 19 human rights organizations, said  in a statement that a few months ago denounced the danger that loomed over the Ombudsman's Office and the intentions of making the only institutional mechanism for the protection of the rights of the people, a political management niche and return to the practice of making it a “job bank” for supporters followers without preparation for the job.

Coco assumed the position in October 2019, after the National Assembly dismissed Alfredo Castillero Hoyos, in the middle for alleged labor and sexual harassment in the entity.

At that time the Network denounced the pressures for the resignation of defender Alfredo Castillero and emphasized that the Ombudsman is not from any political party, from any Government but from the People and the human rights defenders of the country.

It  regretted that currently the institution has fallen into "the clutches of clientelism and the play of interests, weakening its work in defense and promotion of human rights in Panama."

The statement notes Coco's interview in the Knockout, published in La Prensa , on Sunday, March 1, which “reveals not only political patronage and influence peddling as a valid method of its management, but also evidence of negligence in the exercise of a public function. We know that influence peddling is a crime stipulated in article 354 of the Criminal Code, which tells us about penalties of 4 to 6 years and is a serious offense in the Code of Ethics of the public servant ”.

In the interview, the defender admitted that the daughter of former Labor Minister Alma Cortés, and the sister of the PRD deputy, Zulay Rodríguez, had been named in the institution because “Alma” has been “her friend” for more than 30 years. she also revealed that she hired Vielka Valentine, who was sentenced in 2015 to 40 months in jail for document forgery and server corruption because ahe received her resume  but, didn't know about her accounts with justice until then. “I can't dismiss her. She wants to finish her quota to retire ... ”, he said.

She e also admitted to attending former president Ricardo Martinelli in his car. He went to visit her but did not enter the office, but she went to his car. She also thinks that the former president, who was found not guilty in a process in which he was accused of political espionage had his rights violated when he was imprisoned awaiting trial.

The official also admitted that her son works on the bench of the official Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), a group that she resigned 15 days before taking office. Her husband, according to what she replied, has been a doctor in the Legislative Body for 12 years. She reiterated her  30-year friendship with the deputy and president of the PRD, Benicio Robinson.

The Network calls on Public Prosecutor to investigate Coco for influence peddling an offense typified in the Criminal Code and the Code of Ethics for public servants.