Juan Carlos Varela on Tuesday was sworn in as president of Panama in the capital city's soccer stadium, in front of thousands of his new constituents, according to a report from Fox News.

As one of his first acts as Panama's president, Varela has offered gangs in the country a one-month amnesty, a report from the BBC said.

Varela said that the "more than 200 criminal gangs" in Panama have until Aug. 1 to disarm and pleaded with them to "sever links with organized crime and join civic life," the BBC reported.

"From today, no one in Panama is above the law," Varela said during the inaugural ceremony. "Corruption will not be tolerated in our government."

Varela, 50, has promised Panamanians that he will reduce crime and corruption in the next five years in the Central American country, according to the BBC. He also said he will look to control food prices, Fox News reported.

Varela said at his inauguration that he will sign a decree that will freeze the price of 22 basic food products, according to the BBC.

"Let's make it clear, I respect the free market, but I am allergic to any speculation with the basic food of the people," Varela said at the inauguration, the BBC reported.

Varela is the former vice president of Panama, serving under President Ricardo Martinelli, but the two have since fallen out, according to the BBC. Varela was elected president in May, receiving 40 percent of the votes, despite running against Domingo Arias, who was supported by Martinelli.

Martinelli and Varela allegedly fell out when the former president dismissed Varela in 2011 from his position as foreign minister, the BBC reported.

One of the foreign policy issues Varela will have to tackle as president will be reestablishing ties with Venezuela, which were strained after Panama publicly supported Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, according to the BBC.

But news reports say that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was one of the first people to congratulate Varela on the presidency.