You could, maybe, try to make the argument that the use of the term “pro-business” is not meant in a laudatory sense. However, I find even this to be a stretch and, especially, if the article is written for an international audience.
They could have well framed the article around the the multiple controversies surrounding these characters. Heck, Mulino (who is standing in for Panama’s criminally condemned former President), is said to visit Cuba with certain frequency or, at the very least, uses a private jet that does.
No need for arms. Already being invaded by welthy gentrifying from the North. Most locals can’t afford coastal properties any longer.