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INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2146
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0925
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RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//J5/J2/POLAD//

S E C R E T PANAMA 000184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/FO 
DOD FOR DASD ROGER PARDO-MAUER 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD PM
SUBJECT: (C) PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT TORRIJOS: LACK OF U.S. 
REGIONAL STRATEGY HELPS RADICALS 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM EATON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 

¶1.  (S) During a January 30 meeting with Ambassador and DOD 
DASD Roger Pardo-Mauer, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos 
Espino shared his frustration with what he perceives as a 
leadership void created by a lack of a coherent U.S. 
strategic vision for the region.  In his view, the 
increasingly radicalized leftists in the region are rapidly 
filling that void which is making life difficult for 
governments who want to work with the United States. 
Torrijos complained that stalwart friends, such as Panama, 
are being ignored by Washington, while others, who oppose 
U.S. interests, are gaining ground.  End Summary. 
 
Leftist Pressures 
----------------- 

¶2.  (S) In Panama, Torrijos said, leftist forces, including 
those in his own party, are flexing their muscle, berating 
Torrijos for his pro-American policies, taunting him for 
having nothing to show for this so-called friendship and 
strategic partnership.  Meanwhile, the U.S. is perceived as 
"nickeling and diming" Panama on the free trade agreement, 
fueling a public perception in Panama that this is an unequal 
deal being bullied upon Panama.  Different U.S. departments 
and agencies seem to be pursuing their own strategies and 
priorities divorced from the realities and threats emerging 
in the region.  Ironically, he said, while the Executive 
Branch seems to be ignoring and neglecting the region, 
Congressional officials seem to have a better understanding 
and appreciation of the risks at stake in the region.  The 
blithe indifference to the region (and Panama) also is 
manifested in the relative paucity of U.S. companies actively 
pursuing participation in the Panama Canal Expansion Project, 
while swarms of representatives from other countries 
(including China) are actively campaigning for these 
projects. 
 
Urban Risk 
---------- 

¶3.  (S) Torrijos opined that the election of Evo Morales in 
Bolivia was not an indigenous revolution, as many pundits 
claim, but an urban revolution.  Every country in the region 
with an urbanized population, he said, is at risk.  While 
much of the attention from the U.S. to the region has been 
rhetorical, what the region needs are more concrete programs 
to aid democracy, security and trade.  The Organization of 
American States (OAS) can also play a constructive role as a 
facilitator of discussions, but the real work, he said, has 
to be through more and better informal dialogue before 
positions become calcified in public fora.  The PRC, he said, 
is an increasingly important economic partner for Panama, as 
it is for the U.S., in stimulating growth and employment.  He 
added almost dismissively that Taiwan is not a helpful force 
for democracy in the world, alluding to scandals involving 
Taiwanese bribery of Panamanian officials in the previous 
Moscoso Administration. 
 
"Progress By Inches" 
-------------------- 

¶4.  (S) Torrijos conceded that we are making progress by 
inches in solidifying security cooperation between the U.S. 
and Panama, through the Panama Secure Trade and 
Transportation Initiative, Enduring Friendship and the annual 
Panamax exercise.  However, Torrijos expressed his growing 
concern about internal insecurity and unrest in Panama 
because of poverty and unemployment.  That's one reason why a 
free trade agreement is so important, he said. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 

¶5.  (S) We don,t agree with Torrijos,s characterization of 
our FTA discussions, since some of the political problems he 
is confronting are of his own making.  Neither Torrijos nor 
his cabinet has done much to promote the agreement.  Having 
said that, we should not underestimate the enormous pressure 
Torrijos is under within his PRD party to shift the 
government's attention away from the U.S. to others in the 
region (e.g., Venezuela, Cuba). 
 
¶6.  (S) So far, however, Torrijos has been holding firm 
against these forces.  However, it's clear he's losing the 
battle.  His tone during this meeting with the Ambassador and 
Pardo-Mauer was plaintive, tinged with enormous frustration. 
Torrijos characterized the failure to conclude a free trade 
agreement in Washington earlier this month as an enormous 
political and personal blow, which he is still struggling to 
understand.  He claimed that recent polls indicate his 
popularity dropped 10 points after (and because of) the 
inconclusive negotiations*but also, we must point out, 
because of the flamboyant resignation of his Agriculture 
Minister Cortizo, as the last round of FTA negotiations got 
underway.  Waving the specter of Venezuela, Cuba, China and 
others was his way of telling us his interpretation of what 
is at stake for Panama -- and the U.S. -- if the U.S. 
continues to ignore Panama and the region. 
 
EATON