Varela responds to worker affected by Waked Group drug money laundering accusations

Members of the Waked family, a prominent family in Panama have been accused by US authorities of laundering drug money through businesses. Nidal Waked son of Abdul Waked was arrested in Colombia, officials say that he will extradited to the US to face charges.

Nidal Waked has denied the accusations that he and his father were accused of. These accusations include running an organization that laundered money through the Mall, SoHo Mall Panama, a new luxury mall in Panama, Balboa Bank & Trust, a prominent bank in Panama and the La Riviera duty-free chain located in Panama’s major airports. .
The family also runs Panama's oldest newspaper, La Estrella, a leading Panamanian news source.

68 companies linked to the family have had their assets frozen, and are being prevented from dealing with US companies. Among those blacklisted is the Panama-based Balboa Bank. Reuters reported that the bank has more than $44 million in capital and 172 employees.

Panama’s minister of economy and finance Dulcidio De La Guardia is working with an emergency committee that has just been created, meeting with US government officials and creditors of the Waked group companies. This is following President Varela’s move to protect the interest of workers employed by the businesses affected.
Varela  has asked for a list which identifies the employees of the Waked Group’s 68 companies.

“I have given instructions to Minister of Labor Luis Ernesto Carles to identify how many workers the group has and their names. This is to give them all the support that is necessary,” said the president at an official ceremony at the former Rodman Naval Base.

“The government of Panama and will use all the forces of the state and all the capabilities that allow us to use the laws of the country to protect the jobs that are part of this group. Innocent Panamanians are not going to be harmed by this situation. My responsibility as president is to protect the population,” said Varela.