Venezuela has said it was halting commercial relations with Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa, for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting both countries to recall their ambassadors. Inbound and outbound Copa flights, the international flight provider of Venezuela, were suspended for 90 days, effective from today.
The resolution names Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and nearly two dozen Cabinet Ministers and top-ranking officials and says that Panama's financial system had been used by Venezuelan nationals involved in acts of corruption.
The statement came a week after Panama declared Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and some 50 Venezuelan nationals as high risk for laundering money and financing terrorism. It announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Venezuela and asked that Caracas follow suit.
Venezuela has been hit with sanctions by Canada, the United States and a number of other countries over issues ranging from human rights violations to corruption and drug trafficking.
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