| | | Thugs, Leeches, Shouting and Shoving at Trump Hotel in Panama
The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Panama City. In recent days, guests have witnessed yelling and shoving matches involving security personnel, and the presence of police in Kevlar helmets.Credit...Rodrigo Arangua/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Kirk Semple Ben Protess and Steve Eder
PANAMA — The Trump International Hotel and Tower here is President Trump’s only hotel property in Latin America. At 70 stories, it is the tallest building in Panama, offers sweeping views of Panama Bay and features five outdoor swimming pools. The rooms come with Trump-branded bathrobes, stationery and mouthwash.
But in recent days, guests have witnessed a decidedly less glamorous side of the operation: yelling and shoving matches involving security personnel and others, the presence of police officers in Kevlar helmets, and various interventions by Panamanian labor regulators, forensic specialists and a justice of the peace.
The source of the drama? The businessman who recently purchased a majority stake in the hotel wants the Trumps out. And the Trumps, who have a long-term contract to manage the property, are refusing to go.
In a letter marked “Private & Confidential” to the hotel’s other owners, the businessman, Orestes Fintiklis, likened the Trumps to leeches who had attached to the property, “draining our last drops of blood,” according to a copy reviewed by The New York Times. He has also filed legal actions accusing the Trump family business, the Trump Organization, of mismanaging the hotel.
This past week, Panama’s Public Ministry said it was looking into whether there had been any “punishable conduct” in the dispute — which means that an arm of a foreign government finds itself in the extraordinary position of investigating a business owned by the American president. |
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