PANAMA CITY — 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 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 and 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.
The Trump Organization, in turn, has accused Fintiklis of using “thug-like, mob-style tactics’’ in trying to force his way into the hotel’s administrative offices, which prompted the physical and verbal altercations, and of engaging in a “fraudulent scheme’’ to strip the property of its Trump management and branding.
Fintiklis’s criticisms of the company’s management “are a complete sham and a fraud,’’ the company said in a court filing.
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 US president.
Just seven years ago, at the hotel’s grand opening, the president of Panama at the time joined Trump in extolling the property. Panama City was then awash with international investors and a booming economy, earning it the nickname, “Dubai of Latin America.’’
Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, said Trump had no role in the current dispute. “This has absolutely nothing to do with the president of the United States,’’ he said. “It is purely a commercial dispute,’’ adding that “It is simply getting more attention, obviously.’’
The president continues to own the company through a trust but has turned over day-to day management to his eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
All indications point to business, not politics, as the source of the tensions, and at any other moment, the Trump Organization and its army of lawyers might have relished this sort of pitched battle.
But the Panamanian misadventure has become the family business’ biggest headache at a time when its founder is in the White House and every move and woe is magnified across the planet. The business is also showing other signs of receding: The Trump Organization recently agreed to buyout deals that removed the Trump name from once-prized properties in New York and Toronto.
With those stresses and strains, the company is reluctant to walk away from the Panama property and possibly invite other partners to challenge their agreements, according to people close to the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Trumps also believe the law is on their side, according to their lawyers, who argue that their management agreement prevents Fintiklis from terminating the contract without an arbitrator’s order.
The contract to manage the hotel extends through 2031, and the Trumps say they want to stand behind their employees, several of whom Fintiklis has sought to fire, for the duration of the deal.
