Former Panamanian vice president will remain under house arrest after new judicial rejection

Panama's former Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo will remain under house arrest while facing an investigation for alleged unjustified enrichment of USD 1.9 million. (AP Photo/Matías Delacroix)Panama's Superior Court of Appeals on Friday, November 6, rejected former Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo's request to modify his house arrest, imposed at the end of January as part of an investigation into alleged unjustified enrichment of 1.9 million dollars. The judges considered that the defense did not present new elements to justify easing the precautionary measure, so the former official will remain confined to his residence. The decision was adopted by judges Andrés Reyes, Carlos Barragán, and Raúl Urriola, who examined the appeal filed against an October 14 ruling. At that hearing, guarantees judge Mónica Barrios had rejected replacing house arrest with periodic appearances before judicial authorities on the 15th and 30th of each month. The Superior Court of Appeals confirmed on November 6, 2026 the precautionary measure imposed on José Gabriel Carrizo after deeming his defense's arguments insufficient. (Illustrative image Infobae)With this ruling, Carrizo has accumulated at least three unfavorable judicial decisions regarding his attempts to ease his detention, according to published records. On February 12, an appeals court upheld the original measure; on October 14, a judge rejected modifying it, and this November 6 it was ratified again, although the last two decisions correspond to the same request and its appeal. The defense had also attempted to review the restrictions on August 21, but withdrew the petition before it was resolved. His lawyer, Víctor Orobio, questioned that the judge granted him only ten minutes to present arguments related to a case file that, he indicated, contains thousands of pages of documents and audits. During Friday's hearing, the lawyers insisted that an apartment valued at 1.2 million dollars must be deducted from the amount attributed to the alleged enrichment. The defense maintains that the property was acquired before Carrizo assumed the vice presidency and that its inclusion alters the calculations of the asset investigation. José Gabriel Carrizo was apprehended on January 27, 2026, when he returned to Panama from Guatemala, and has remained under house arrest since the end of that month. Video captureThe judges noted that, even after subtracting the value of that property, more than 600,000 dollars would remain unjustified, according to the elements examined in the proceedings. They also considered that the expert report presented by the lawyers, according to which the former official's income exceeds his expenses, must be discussed at trial, when the specialists can be questioned. The investigation originated in a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic on the evolution of Carrizo's assets during his tenure as vice president, between 2019 and 2024. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office maintains that there is an increase of approximately 1.9 million dollars that would not have been duly justified, an accusation the former official rejects. A report by the Comptroller General of the Republic supports the investigation into an alleged asset increase of USD 1.9 million during the former vice president's tenure. Taken from the Comptroller's OfficeCarrizo was apprehended on January 27, 2026 at Tocumen International Airport, when he returned to Panama from Guatemala. One day later, guarantees judge Oris Medina legalized his apprehension, admitted the charge of unjustified enrichment, and ordered house arrest and a ban on leaving the country. Since then, the former vice president and former presidential candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party has maintained his innocence and questioned various aspects of the procedure. His lawyers also raised a controversy over the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, arguing that Carrizo has rights as a member of the Central American Parliament, although he had not formally been sworn in. The case file also faces a dispute related to the duration of the criminal investigation. The Public Prosecutor's Office filed two writs of protection to obtain more time and expand the proceedings, including a request to declare the case complex. One of those motions was admitted by the First Superior Court, as learned during the hearing. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office seeks to extend the investigation period in the case against former Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo, while his defense questions the prolongation of the process. (Illustrative image Infobae)The defense filed an appeal against that action, while the discussion over the deadlines has prevented normal progress toward the intermediate stage of the process. The Prosecutor's Office intends to have more time to examine the assets and asset movements attributed to the former vice president, while his lawyers question the prolongation of the judicial proceedings. For now, Carrizo will remain under house arrest while the proceedings for unjustified enrichment continue. The controversies over the origin of his income, the value of his properties, and the accounting reports must be resolved in the corresponding stages of the judicial process, in accordance with the evidence presented by the parties.