Panama

Ricardo Martinelli is the first president to have reportedly used hp, a Spanish swear word on Twitter. The tweet has been deleted, but he explained: “For all those who have evil intentions hp stands for Harry Potter” adding a picture of the sorcerer. In November 2011 he congratulated the boxer and welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao “for leaving the name of our country on high, and for being one of the best fighters in professional boxing”. The problem was that Manny Pacquiao isn’t Panamean, he is Filipino. The President quickly deleted the tweet and later apologized explaining he had “hired a young person to help me with Twitter and he doesn't know anything about boxing” adding later that “Only I will answer or send tweets from now on.” His most popular tweet is his offer to give asylum to “Carlos Perez Barriga, a journalist from the newspaper El Universo, sentenced to three years in prison and a 40million fine in Ecuador”.

The official government Twitter account announced “A new way to communicate @SecComunicacion” on 23 August 2011. The tweets include press releases, practical information, a few personal messages and congratulations as well as the latest news about the president, the government, the first lady and the cabinet. The account has also been using the photo service Yfrog to illustrate his meetings and visits. The most popular tweet is the decision to make Monday 30 April 2012 a bridge day before the May Day celebrations. The account frequently uses @replies when mentioning President Martinelli, not realizing that these tweets will only be seen by people who follow both accounts.