President Cortizo Take the president at his word, but… Panamanians are jaded. We have every right to be. However, “they all do it” is actually not true with respect to many annoying things that politicians do. When advanced as an excuse by someone who appears to have been caught, that’s especially annoying. So Ricardo Martinelli tried to minimize the offenses against people’s privacy during his years in the presidency with that sort of excuse, and Laurentino Cortizo bluntly denied it. Take how bad our judiciary can be, and find reason for discomfort in the president’s word, if you wish. A politicized judiciary might issue a warrant for anything. However, there is no special reason to believe that Nito lied to us about his administration’s policy on this matter.