THE DECISION  of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of State, to not renew the operating license of the  GES editorial group. publishers of El Siglo and La Estrella de Panamá is  "an insult to the country,"  says the group’s  president Eduardo Quirós,

The measure, said Quirós, will have a direct detrimental effect on the 243 editorial staff, but also violates the freedom of expression of an entire country.

The OFAC license, which allows US citizens and companies to trade with GESE, expired Wednesday, July 12 at midnight.

Despite the consequences of the measure, Quirós said that both La Estrella de Panamá and El Siglo will try to continue publishing for their commitment to readers and the country.

Hurricane looms
"This will be like a hurricane that will happen at midnight and tomorrow [Thursday] we will see the real impact . One of them is that Twitter, which is an American company, can eliminate the accounts," said Quirós.

The Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF), Dulcidio De La Guardia, is meeting  with Quirós to discuss the situation of the publishing group.

Quirós sent a message to President , Juan Carlos Varela: "Mr. President have your ministers and your Government read Article 17 of the Constitution of the Republic, which states clearly:" The authorities of the Republic are Instituted to protect the life, honor and property of  nationals wherever they are- "

The inclusion in the "Clinton List" of Abdul Waked, president of Wisa and main shareholder of GESE, conditioned the operation of the newspapers to a license that was renewed repeatedly from May 5, 2016 until the expiration  at midnight.

The Panama Star, considered the "Dean " of Panamanian journalism, founded on February 24, 1849, is the oldest newspaper in the country and the third  oldest in Latin America. El Siglo, with  has been in circulation, for 32 years".

The announcement of the cancellation of the license of OFAC came  on Tuesday, the same day that La Estrella de Panama incorporated into its information platforms the new online channel LaEstrella.TV, which complements the contents of the printed version and  a digital newspaper