WebProNews

Internet hackers brought down the Web site of Panama's National Assembly and briefly posted an American flag there, after the legislature voted in as its president a man accused of murdering a U.S. soldier.

Unnamed officials at the assembly said the site has been down since January 9, when a U.S. flag briefly appeared there. They believe the attack originated in the United States. Pedro Miguel Gonzalez was elected president of Panama's legislature in September, even though he is wanted in the United States for the 1992 murder of U.S. Army Sgt. Zac Hernandez.

The U.S. strongly opposed his candidacy and high profile U.S. congressional figures, including Sen. Hilary Clinton have promised not to ratify a pending free trade agreement unless Gonzalez steps down from his position Reuters is reporting.

The Web site went down on "Martyr's Day" in Panama, when the country remembers the deaths of about 20 people in 1964 I clashed between anti-U.S. protesters and American soldiers protecting the Panama Canal Zone.