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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8627
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C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 001455 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2016 
TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA REELS FROM LOSS TO KEY ANTI-DRUG OFFICIALS 
 
REF: PANAMA 1423 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William A. Eaton - Reasons 1.5 (b and d) 
 
¶1.  (C) The sudden July 20 resignation of Panama's top 
anti-drug prosecutor, Patricio Candanedo, has dealt a harsh 
blow to a law enforcement community that was already reeling 
from the suspicious July 19 death of Franklin Brewster, the 
top counter-narcotics detective in the Judicial Technical 
Police ("PTJ," the GOP's FBI-like agency.)  A group that 
purports to be linked to the FARC has put forth 
unsubstantiated claims of responsibility for Brewster's death 
as part of a broader campaign of retaliation against GOP and 
U.S. officials.  Although President Torrijos said that he is 
"very concerned" about the state of Panama's 
counter-narcotics institutions, Attorney General Ana Matilde 
Gomez denied that these agencies are in crisis.  Clearly a 
setback for counter-narcotics efforts in Panama, this 
episode's full impact remains to be seen, but it cannot help 
but erode already weak public confidence in the GOP's law 
enforcement institutions.  End summary. 
 
Veteran Anti-Drug Prosecutor Quits 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Candanedo, a 27-year veteran prosecutor and close 
collaborator with U.S. law enforcement agencies, announced 
July 20 that he was quitting his post as the Public 
Ministry's (PM's) top counter-narcotics prosecutor.  He said 
that the GOP is poorly equipped to combat what he maintains 
is a rise in organized crime, drug trafficking, and gun 
running in Panama.  Candanedo led Panama's participation in 
the multilateral "Twin Oceans" operation that netted 
Colombian druglord Pablo Rayo Montano on May 16.  He said 
that, since Rayo Montano's arrest, he has seen a growing 
climate of "attacks" instigated by those with possible ties 
to Rayo Montano, including some powerful Panamanian 
government, business, and media figures. 
 
¶3.  (C) Candanedo downplayed publicly the notion that AG 
Gomez had forced him out by punishing him over a series of 
supposed administrative lapses as payback for an old grudge. 
(Note: As a young PM official about a decade ago, Gomez was 
fired for allegedly disobeying an order involving the 
handling of an arrested drug suspect.  Since returning the 
head the PM as Torrijos' AG, she appeared to pursue a 
vendetta in forcing the departure of several officials that 
she believed played a role in her own ouster.  End note.) 
Privately, however, Candanedo made clear that he felt Gomez 
had trumped up administrative complaints against him over 
what he maintains were insignificant management failures 
(e.g., not signing routine documents within mandated 
periods).  She put him on a month of unpaid leave on June 17 
and, upon his return to work on July 17, she slapped him with 
more sanctions for alleged administrative "negligence."  With 
more such punishment apparently in the offing, Candanedo 
decided to quit. 
 
Shawdowy Group Claims Role in Detective's Death 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) As reported reftel, Brewster's July 19 death came 
sixteen days after his apparent poisoning.  As head of the 
PTJ's "Sensitive Investigations Unit" composed of USG-vetted 
officers, Brewster was a close USG collaborator and played a 
lead role for the GOP in the "Twin Oceans" operation. 
Although lab tests remain incomplete, Panama's medical 
examiner told the press July 20 that Brewster died from 
ingesting an insecticide-like substance. 
 
¶5.  (C) On July 21, the PTJ and various news agencies 
received an anonymous fax claiming that Brewster was killed 
in retaliation for his part in "Operation Alamo," an element 
of the "Twin Oceans" operation.  The fax claimed that a 
heretofore unknown "Operacion Factura Roja" ("Operation Red 
Invoice") has a hit list of another eight drug enforcement 
officials.  This was followed by an anonymous July 23 email 
to several news agencies claiming that a campaign has been 
mounted to use phosphate or paraquat to "eliminate agents of 
the CIA-ATU" in Panama.  The note also claimed that the 
"Factura Roja" cell in Panama has obtained 50 kilograms of C4 
explosive and cellular detonators and that it has the 
"technical assistance" of FARC "specialists." 
 
¶6.  (C) Although the July 21 and July 23 threats could be 
hoaxes, Post cannot completely dismiss their authenticity and 
we have heightened our security posture (septel). 
 
Comment: Temporary Setback or Big Blow to Our CN Efforts? 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶7.  (C) Given the pivotal role that both Brewster and 
Candanedo played in the Rayo Montano case, among others, 
their sudden loss is clearly a setback for U.S. drug 
enforcement efforts in Panama.  Although President Torrijos 
said that he was "very concerned" about these developments, 
AG Gomez denied that Panama's law enforcement agencies are in 
crisis.  Our immediate challenges are to: (1) assist the GOP 
in conducting a robust investigation into Brewster's death 
and, (2) focus the AG on shoring up the prosecutor's office 
and keeping it from going into a full tailspin.  While the 
full impact of these developments remains to be seen, the 
confluence of these events - together with the recent 
drug-related charges filed against the GOP's drug prosecutor 
in Colon, Aminta Corro - cannot help but erode already weak 
public confidence in the GOP's law enforcement institutions. 
Moreover, they raise the troubling specter that powerful 
interests possibly linked to the Rayo Montano case may have 
begun a campaign to intimid ate law enforcement officials in Panama. 
End comment. 
EATON