Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli announced Thursday there was oil in the Darien jungle and he planned to expand the mining industry in Panama while protecting the environment. “Even if you don’t believe it, I am going to say something I shouldn’t say, Panama has oil in the Darien area, we are doing studies and have confirmed it, that the same veins from Colombia reach Panama,” the president said Tuesday. Ricardo Martinelli discussed Panama’s potential energy resources in an address to the Annual Conference of Business Executives organized by the Panamanian Business Executives Association, or APEDE.