The province of Coclé,

story by The Panama Post

The province of Coclé,

located an hour and a half from Panama city, is a place proud of its heritage and culture.

This province is of great importance to archeology, because there have been found there a great number of “Huacas” (old graves) that correspond to the Pre Columbian era, which shows that in this region lived a high civilization culture.

Its city has a great economic potential, since it has sugar plants, ports, good hotels and restaurants. Coclé is a land of great natural contrasts and touristic attractions.

It also has an extraordinary cultural and folkloric richness. The province has contributed with notable educators who have collaborated in an remarkable way to the consolidation of the national education system.

Coclé´s province has an approximate land extension of 4,827.3 square kilometers and a population of 173.190 inhabitants.

Politically it is organized in six districts: Aguadulce, Antón, La Pintada, Natá, Olá y Penonomé) and 39 zones, with their respective civil authorities.

Coclé´s population dedicates itself mainly to cattle raising and planting, especially rice.

Also, an important part of the population works in the sugar production industry.

In this province you have several options to choose from, such as the area of Farallón, located in the division nof Río Hato, in the district of Antón and almost in the heart of the isthmus.

Other of the suggested places during a visit to Coclé province is the Antón Valley, located two hours from Panama City. Placed in the crater of a volcano it has a nice weather and amiable people. It also has a zoo with different types of animals for you and your family to enjoy wildlife.

You will also find here the beach known as Santa Clara. When you arrive, the sound of the waves, its blue waters and clear sky provide a warm welcome to visitors.

To go to Coclé province you can take a bus at the National Transport Terminal in Albrook and take the route Penonomé, Panamá . The price of the ticket is US$ 4.00.
If you prefer to travel in your own car you can use the route through the Bridge of the Americas or the Centenario.




Panama Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was heading to a summit in Uruguay on Monday in the hope he had quashed public panic and gained political ground in a purge of the South American nation's financial sector.

The following are some facts about Venezuela's banking sector:

* Venezuela has about 50 banks and financial institutions with deposits worth an estimated $115-billion (U.S.) and a credit portfolio of $70-billion, according to an October report from local financial group Softline Consultores.

* The government has in the last week closed seven small banks, accounting for about 8 per cent of total deposits, citing mismanagement and solvency problems. The state plans to take over and reopen five of them.

* Venezuela's top 10 banks account for 68.5 per cent of the banking system's $115-billion in deposits and 73 per cent of its $70-billion credit portfolio. Analysts and officials say Venezuela's big banks are well-capitalized and profitable.

* Of the top 10 banks, two are state-owned, Banco de Venezuela and Banfoandes. The rest are in private hands.

* Foreign involvement is small. Only one of the top 10 banks is foreign owned, BBVA Banco Provincial, controlled by Spain's BBVA.

* In July the government bought Banco de Venezuela from Spain's Grupo Santander for $1.05-billion. Santander still owns Bancrecer, a small Venezuelan development bank.

* Citibank and ABN AMRO have small operations in Venezuela, mainly for corporate clients.

* Mr. Chavez has accused some bankers of not complying with Venezuelan law, which includes strict requirements to extend credit to small businesses and farmers at low interest rates. He said he was prepared to nationalize any banks, or even the whole system, if they do not obey.

* The government says state bank insurance agency Fogade will protect almost all depositors in the seven closed financial institutions. Mr. Chavez promised savers would have their money back before Christmas and private banks are helping the government organize.

* Mr. Chavez says he has set up a “situation room” to monitor the health and compliance of banks. While he is clearly engaged in a “cleanup” of the sector, analysts say he is unlikely to risk the instability a large-scale takeover of the banking system could provoke.

* Venezuelans are nervous about banking collapses after a crisis that started in 1994 wiped out half the nation's banks and cost the state $11-billion.

* In May Venezuela put ailing state-owned Banco Industrial into receivership following severe capitalization and administration problems. The bank's former president was arrested on corruption charges.

* Arbitrage linked to a fixed exchange rate has created opportunities for large profits in Venezuela's financial sector. Despite Mr. Chavez's anti-capitalist rhetoric, banks benefited from the country's oil-driven economic expansion until a downturn this year. Opposition parties say Chavez allies have made millions through ownership of banks and other institutions.

* In February, the government took over Stanford Bank Venezuela, owned by disgraced Texas financier Allen Stanford, after a run on deposits sparked by fraud investigations of Stanford's Antigua offshore bank. The tiny unit was otherwise healthy and the government later sold it to a local bank.

Driver murdered, 324 kilos of drugs seized
la prensa

Authorities seized 324 kilos of drugs in Penonomé that were hidden in a tractor-trailer.

Gabriel Mojica Chérigo, 33 years old, was shot down and killed yesterday at dawn by unknown delinquents, who intercepted the truck he was driving along the Pan-American Highway in Penonomé, province of Coclé.

The killers shot Mojica Chérigo in an effort to steal the drugs being transported in his truck, according to preliminary reports from the National Police (PN).

The reports further indicated that the victim was driving a tractor-trailer with license plate number 566887, headed toward the countryside of the Republic, when another vehicle, not yet identified, intercepted the truck, and its occupants fired several shots with a firearm at the driver. The criminals fled without taking the goods.

After hearing about the crime, officials from the police department, judicial investigation department, and senior drug prosecutor's office arrived on the scene, where they were able to seize the 324 kilos of drugs left behind. Subsequently, police enabled checkpoints and managed to capture four men, who are currently under investigation.

Meanwhile, Fernando Tapiero, secretary of the Prosecutor's Office on Drug-Related Crimes, noted that with this seizure, authorities have confirmed that there are huge quantities of illegal substances being moved through the sector, to which he responded that authorities would be setting up increased operations to intensify the fight against this crime in the area.

The official further informed that the large quantity of drugs being carried by the truck indicated that it was most likely destined to be sent to another country, probably through the Costa Rican-Panamanian border