This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PANAMA 001016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR WHA/CEN/BRIGHAM, INR/B, AND OPS CENTER 
NSC FOR TOM SHANNON 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2014 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PM POLITICS FOREIGN POLICY
SUBJECT: PANAMA: BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON VICE 
PRESIDENTS-ELECT SAMUEL LEWIS NAVARRO AND RUBEN AROSEMENA 
VALDEZ 
 
REF: A. PANAMA 1014 
     ¶B. PANAMA 1015 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Christopher J. McMullen for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
 
Summary: The "Gringo handler" and the politician 
--------------------------------------------- --- 

¶1.  (SBU) Martin Torrijos chose a seasoned businessman with 
strong political connections as his First Vice President and 
a soft-spoken, but seasoned politician as his Second Vice 
President.  First Vice President-elect Samuel Lewis Navarro 
is the son of former Noriega foreign minister (later 
anti-Noriega exile) Gabriel Lewis Galindo.  The Torrijos 
team's chief "Gringo handler," the articulate, intelligent, 
pro-U.S. Lewis Navarro is a successful businessman with 
multi-national interests in fruit and packaging.  Many have 
speculated that Lewis Navarro will serve double duty as 
Torrijos' Foreign Minister.  Second Vice President-elect 
Ruben Arosemena is the President of the Popular Party (PP), 
which joined forces with the PRD for the 2004 campaign.  Many 
campaign observers have suggested Arosemena, a second-term 
legislator from an influential political family, will 
spearhead President-elect Torrijos' anti-corruption 
initiatives. 
 
 
Vice President-elect Lewis: The Businessman 
------------------------------------------- 

¶2.  (SBU) Born on July 15, 1957, Samuel Lewis Navarro is a 
non-politician who is extremely well-connected politically. 
He was the frequent companion of his father, Gabriel Lewis 
Galindo, during the latter's long career -- which included 
assignment to Washington as the Panamanian Ambassador to the 
U.S. (1977-78), a period of exile in the US during the 1980s, 
founding support work in the National Civic Crusade against 
Noriega, and finally a term as Foreign Minister (1994-96) 
during the Perez Balladares administration.  Lewis Navarro 
has maintained his father's high-level political connections 
in the US.  Former President Jimmy Carter and members of the 
Kennedy family have visited his home on Contadora Island off 
the Pacific coast of Panama. 
 
 
¶3.  (C) Samuel Lewis Navarro is a close personal friend of 
Martin Torrijos.  He was the Vice President of the Solidarity 
Party until February 2003 when he withdrew his support from 
that party (his uncle, Samuel Lewis Galindo, is the party 
president) due to its choice of 2004 second-place finisher, 
former President Guillermo Endara as its presidential 
candidate.  Vice President-elect Lewis had wanted Solidarity 
to back Torrijos after 1999 third-place finisher Alberto 
Vallarino (17%) dropped out of the race in January 2003. 
Lewis Navarro only made the formal break with Solidarity 
almost a year later when he announced his candidacy as Martin 
Torrijos' running mate.  (Comment: Vice President-elect Lewis 
was not alone in his desire that Solidarity support Torrijos. 
 Allegations appear farfetched that Samuel's opportunistic 
uncle used his party to support Endara only to split anti-PRD 
votes between Endara and 2004 third-place finisher Arnulfista 
candidate Jose Miguel Aleman, thus ensuring a Torrijos win. 
End Comment.) 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Lewis Navarro worked on behalf of the Solidarity 
Party for the presidential campaigns of his uncle, Samuel 
Lewis Galindo in 1994 and also that of Alberto Vallarino in 
¶1999.  In addition to his political connections, Samuel Lewis 
Navarro has also consistently focused his efforts on running 
his family business CIACSA, a holding company that controls 
the Lewis family's numerous domestic and international 
business interests focused primarily on boxes/paper products 
and fruit processing.  Appointed to the Board of Directors of 
the Panama Canal Authority by former President Ernesto Perez 
Balladares (1994-99), Lewis Navarro was replaced in May 2001 
by a Moscoso appointee. 
 
 
¶5.  (U) Lewis Navarro has an undergraduate degree in business 
from Georgetown University.  He is married to his second 
wife, with whom he has two children.  He also has a son and a 
daughter from his first marriage.  Panama City Mayor Juan 
Carlos Navarro is Samuel's first cousin; the two have a close 
relationship. 
 
 
Vice President-elect Arosemena: The Politician 
--------------------------------------------- - 

¶6.  (SBU) Ruben Eloy Arosemena Valdez was born on April 11, 
¶1960.  After attending the prestigious Panama City catholic 
high school Colegio La Salle, Arosemena obtained an 
undergraduate law degree at the Universidad de Santa Maria La 
Antigua (USMA), also in Panama City.  Later, Arosemena 
obtained a Masters in International and Comparative Law from 
Southern Methodist University. 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Ruben Arosemena, the son of Christian Democratic 
Party (PDC)-founder Ruben Arosemena Guardia, is the President 
of the Popular Party (PP), which replaced the PDC.  After his 
first position as Provincial Secretary General, Arosemena 
advanced through the ranks of the PDC to become national 
Joint Secretary General for the PDC's youth wing.  Ruben was 
the PDC Secretary General in 1994 and a member of the Party's 
Executive Committee.  Before moving on to the Legislative 
Assembly, Arosemena's first elected position was as local 
representative (Representante de Corregimiento) for the 
Panama City area of Bella Vista from 1984-89. 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The pinaccle of Arosemena's legislative career was 
his 2001-02 position as President of Panama's Legislative 
Assembly.  He began working in the assembly as an alternate 
to Carlos Arrellano Lennox from 1989-94 in the upper-middle 
class 8-8 electoral circuit.  During the same period, Ruben 
was also the Assembly's Secretary General. In 1994, Arosemena 
succeeded Arrellano to win the legislative seat that he now 
holds.  He won re-election to the same seat in 1999. 
 
 
¶9.  (U) Prior to entering politics, Arosemena practiced law 
at the family law firm, R.R. Arosemena and Associates.  He is 
married to the former Pilar Arias, niece of PDC co-founder 
Ricardo Arias Calderon who served as Endara's First Vice 
President.  The couple has two young daughters.  Ruben speaks 
fluent English and is a member of the Panamanian Association 
of Business Executives (APEDE) and the Rotary Club.  He 
enjoys fishing. 
 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment: The Vice Presidents-elect, like Martin 
Torrijos, represent the same new generation of political 
leaders, one that all hope will leave behind the rampant 
patronage and nepotism that characterized the old. 
 
 
WATT