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 002025 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/FO, AND INL/LP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2015 
TAGS: PREL SNAR PINR PINS MARR PM POL CHIEF
SUBJECT: INTERAGENCY TEAM DISCUSSES SECURITY COOPERATION 
WITH PANAMA 
 
REF: STATE 160907 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William A. Eaton.  Reasons 1.4 (B/D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Panamanian President Torrijos and his 
principal national security advisors met with a visiting USG 
interagency delegation September 29 and agreed to pursue 
enhanced information sharing, improve border security 
cooperation, and develop a mechanism for closer bilateral 
security coordination. Torrijos and his team are prepared for 
further discussions on these issues in the weeks leading up 
to, and during, President Bush,s visit to Panama in 
November.  This initiative provides the USG with a unique 
opportunity to enhance our homeland security and strengthen 
Panama,s ability to fight terrorism and narcotics 
trafficking as it anchors an evolving North American security 
community.  End Summary 
 
U.S. and Panama Discuss Security Cooperation 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) WHA DAS Dan Fisk led an interagency delegation to 
Panama City September 28 ) 30 for consultations with the GOP 
regarding the Panama Secure Trade & Transportation Initiative 
(PST&TI).  PST&TI represents the Torrijos Administration,s 
framework for national security planning and international 
cooperation and seeks to take advantage of Panama,s 
geographic location and growing importance in global maritime 
trade.   DASD Roger Pardo-Maurer and DHS Director for Latin 
America Suzanne Petrie also participated in the USG 
delegation, along with colleagues from the Departments of 
State, Justice, Defense, Homeland Security, and the CIA. 
Discussions focused on opportunities for enhanced information 
sharing, cooperation to enhance border security, and 
mechanisms for formalizing ongoing bilateral security 
consultations.  As DAS Fisk noted in his concluding remarks 
to U.S. and Panamanian officials, this trip provided USG 
participants with a unique opportunity to interact with the 
intellectual authors of the Panamanian proposal and to learn 
more about its contours.  The Panamanians were clearly 
impressed with the breadth and depth of U.S. representation, 
and welcomed the opportunity to interact with USG 
counterparts. 
 
Torrijos Stresses Regional Context 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) At a September 29 breakfast he hosted, President 
Torrijos, joined by Foreign Minister Lewis, Minister of 
Government and Justice Aleman, and Intelligence Chief Leonel 
Solis, stressed Panama,s desire to strengthen security 
cooperation with the U.S.  During the discussion, Torrijos 
emphasized the linkage between security and prosperity, 
noting the importance of promoting human development 
throughout the region.  The group discussed the regional 
dimensions of Panama,s security proposal, with DASD Pardo 
Maurer expressing hope that Panama could help anchor a 
regional security strategy for Central America. With this in 
mind, Torrijos noted that Panama would be assuming the 
Presidency of SICA (the Central American System for Regional 
Integration) at the end of the year and would seek to focus 
that organization on concrete objectives. 
 
GOP Updates on Security Strategy 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Leading off the formal discussions later in the day, 
Minister of Government and Justice Aleman and his colleagues 
provided the U.S. delegation with an update to the PST&TI 
proposal, which had first been presented in early April, 
¶2005.  The PST&TI proposal has been developed by a GOP 
inter-agency team and continues to bear President Torrijos 
personal imprint.  Aleman focused his presentation on the 
ongoing restructuring of Panama,s security forces, including 
changes in Customs, the Police, and the Air and Maritime 
Services. (Note:  While Aleman unveiled the GOP,s plan to 
merge the Air and Maritime Services into a new &Coast 
Guard,8 it has since become clear that this initiative has 
not been fully developed.) USG participants were also 
provided additional details regarding Panama,s proposed 
information analysis system and its interest in biomedical 
research and development.  Detailed background information 
has been shared with USG participants in the meeting. 
¶5.  (C) As in previous discussions, participants focused on 
the importance of the Panama Canal to global maritime trade 
and its potential vulnerability to terrorist attack.  At the 
Embassy,s request, a senior representative from the Panama 
Canal Authority (ACP) was included in this meeting.  His 
participation allowed us to bring earlier discussions with 
the ACP regarding information sharing into the broader 
context of the bilateral initiatives being planned.  In 
conversations after our meeting, all participants agreed that 
it was useful to have the Canal included in the discussions. 
 
Defining areas for Cooperation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) USG representatives stressed our desire to strengthen 
bilateral security cooperation and to develop concrete 
&deliverables8 in advance of the President,s November 
visit to Panama.  In subsequent working group sessions 
devoted to information sharing, security force restructuring, 
and trade/transportation security, representatives agreed 
that there were several areas that were particularly 
promising.   These include: 
 
     Development of information sharing systems; 
     Potential progress on the Container Security Initiative 
(CSI); 
     Enhanced Border Security Assistance; 
     Development of a bilateral ad hoc mechanism for 
security-related consultations 
 
¶7.  (C) Foreign Minister Lewis expressed support for the ad 
hoc bilateral security consultative mechanism.  This would 
seek to formalize what we are doing with Panama as part of 
this initiative.  Embassy believes that such a mechanism 
would not only help us keep PST&TI on track, but could also 
serve as a forum for reviewing the progress of ongoing 
initiatives. 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Participants at the September 29 consultations agreed 
that there would be an opportunity to follow up on elements 
of the discussions during the SecDef,s Central American 
Defense Ministerial scheduled for October 12 ) 14 in Miami, 
although they acknowledged that these meetings would not be 
devoted solely to PST&TI.  The President,s visit to the 
Canal also offers an opportunity for the two leaders to 
publicly affirm their commitment to secure trade and 
transportation infrastructure, perhaps in the form of a joint 
declaration that could be issued during the visit. 
 
¶9. (C) In order to maintain the momentum from these 
discussions, Embassy believes that the following high 
priority activities should be scheduled before the end of 
CY-2005: 
 
A visit by a CBP team to discuss CSI with Panama,s new 
Customs Director and staff; 
 
A visit by an inter-agency team of technical experts to 
develop a test of the proposed information sharing system; 
 
Presentation of a proposal for the ad hoc bilateral security 
consultation mechanism, that could possibly be announced 
during the POTUS visit; 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (C) As they did in April, Panama,s national security 
team impressed USG counterparts with the amount of effort 
that has gone into their proposal for enhanced security 
cooperation.  We have shown the GOP that we are serious in 
looking for ways to respond positively to their proposal 
within resource constraints.   The November visit provides 
both governments with a unique opportunity to accelerate the 
development and implementation of new initiatives. 
EATON