judicial

Espino allowed to appeal Anam fine

The president’s uncle was fined $85,000 for illegally clearing mangroves.

The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court has upheld the admission of a lawsuit brought by Rodolfo Charro Espino, the uncle of President Martín Torrijos, against a fine imposed by the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam) on his development company.

Espino, through his company Corporación Playa Blanca, is accused of clearing 38 hectares of mangroves in the coastal area of Punta Chame, west of Panama. The company was fined $60,735 by Anam for working in an “environmentally fragile area” without having an environmental impact study. It was fined an additional $25,000 to pay for reforesting efforts to fix the damage.

Espino filed an appeal, and that action was opposed by Anam. Judges Adán Arjona and Víctor Benavides recently issued a ruling in which Espino was allowed to go forward with his appeal.

Espino is also facing criminal charges related to the development.

On April 15, the Second Criminal Court of La Chorrera discontinued the case, ruling that Espino had not committed any wrongdoing. That decision, however, was thrown out on appeal, meaning that the criminal charges have been reinstated.

A court date has not been set for the case to be heard. Earlier criminal proceedings involving the case were delayed for months.

A recent conference on mangroves sponsored by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute discussed the environmental impact of development on Panama’s coastline, and recommended that the government take action to limit it. Mangrove destruction has led to problems, such as flooding, in some areas.