Brewery Lifts Seizure of Panamanian Football Federation  · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

Despite a tweet from President Ricardo Martinelli that incited controversy, everything is returning to normal after a few turbulent days between the Panamanian Football Federation and Baru Brewery.
On April 29, 2013, President Martinelli (@rmartinelli) [es] made a reference on his Twitter account to one of Baru Brewery's products:
@rmartinelli: Le pido respetuosamente a la Cerv Panamá que retire YA la demanda a Fepafut. La pelea de ellos es contra todo Panamá y ahora es conmigo.
@rmartinelli: I respectfully ask Beer Panama to retract their demand from Fepafut ALREADY. Their fight is against all of Panama and now it is with me.
The president's words sparked opinions both in favor and against his comment. User Joanna (@Buhenona) [es] believed the tweet promoted irresponsibility:
Beer Panama, photo from Flickr user Erik Cleves Kristensen, under the Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)
(@Buhenona) @rmartinelli que falta de todo! Apadrinando la irresponsabilidad de los ladrones esos ¬_¬
(@Buhenona) @rmartinelli what a lack of everything! Sponsoring those thieves’ irresponsibility ¬_¬
For Jesús Chucho Barrios (@chucho507) [es], however, it is a demonstration of love for the national team on behalf of the president:
@chucho507: @rmartinelli Definitivo nuestro Presidente no es un Robot, el se expresa y siente como cualquiera de nosotros. #ApoyoAlPresi @la_cascara
@chucho507: @rmartinelli Our President is definitely not a Robot, he expresses himself and feels just like any one of us. #ApoyoAlPresi [#SupportThePresi] @la_cascara
Baru Brewery lifted the embargo that it had against Fepafut the morning of April 30, as they informed Diario Pro [es]:
En conferencia de prensa convocada en la mañana del día martes, la gerente de Cervecería Barú, Helene Weesie, confirmó que le han notificado a la Federación Panameña de Fútbol que el secuestro que habían interpuesto el día jueves ha sido levantado y que el proceso se retomará después del Mundial 2014.
At a press conference held on Tuesday morning, Baru Brewery manager, Helene Weesie, confirmed that they have notified the Panamanian Football Federation that the seizure which had been interposed on Thursday had been lifted and proceedings will resume after the 2014 World Cup.
The company also used the Twitter account for Panama Beer (@Cerveza_Panama) [es], its main product, to make it known that despite retracting the seizure, they hope justice is done:
@Cerveza_Panama: Los consumidores quieren trasparencia y justicia, nosotros también, por eso continuaremos con el proceso de arbitraje despues del Mundial.
@Cerveza_Panama: Consumers want transparency and justice, as do we, which is why we will continue with the arbitration process after the World Cup.
The company also posted a video [es] on its YouTube channel, where manager Helene Weesie explains the brewery's behavior and clarifies the company's intention, as well as that of all Panamanians, that the national team play. Additionally, the manager spoke about pressure the brewery came under in recent days for simply reclaiming its rights. Finally, Wessie clarifies that Baru Brewery promises to continue searching for justice and will postpone arbitration until after the 2014 World Cup: