VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #0505/01 0931657
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031657Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0093
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2555
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC

UNCLAS PANAMA 000505 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRIM SOCI PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: TORRIJOS LAUNCHES "CRUSADE AGAINST CRIME" 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (U) In a March 29 address to the nation, President 
Torrijos unveiled an anti-crime bill with a multipronged 
strategy to fight youth crime, particularly youth gang 
violence.  The new bill would propose tougher penalties for 
youth offenders, tighten immigration regulations, and direct 
seized assets to help fund facilities for delinquent youth. 
Torrijos said he would submit the bill to the National 
Assembly as a top-priority agenda item the week of April 2. 
End summary. 
 
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"NO MORE IMPUNITY" 
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¶2.  (U) The GOP's anti-crime package comes in the wake of 
public pressure to take action after a March 21 fire -- 
allegedly the result of a dispute between rival youth gangs 
-- that killed three children in the Panama City neighborhood 
of Curundu.  In his announcement, Torrijos outlined several 
measures aimed at delinquent youth, including: increasing 
penalties for youth offenders, establishing specific 
sentencing periods of up to 12 years based on the type of 
crime and the age of the minor, and lowering of the age of 
majority for youth offenders from 21 to 18.  These tougher 
sanctions would target the "alarming and inadmissible 
impunity that seems to cover delinquent minors," Torrijos 
stated. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In addition to these measures, the proposed law 
would discontinue the practice of removing juvenile offenses 
from criminal records, Vice President Samuel Lewis told 
Ambassador March 30.  Currently crimes and arrests committed 
as a minor were not included in criminal records, but, under 
the proposed law, all offenses would be included.  (Note: In 
Panama, a criminal background check is a requirement for job 
and other applications.)  Lewis also said that whereas youth 
currently remained in the juvenile justice system until age 
21, under the new law juveniles would be transferred to the 
adult system upon reaching age 18.  Furthermore, adults who 
used minors to commit criminal acts would face tougher 
penalties and gangs would be treated as criminal 
organizations, Lewis added. 
 
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IMMIGRATION REFORM 
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¶4.  (U) Torrijos also called for an immediate review of 
Panama's immigration system to "establish controls and stop 
people with criminal records from entering the country." 
Specifically, Torrijos called for the deportation of 
foreigners living illegally in Panama.  The proposed law 
would suspend the unlimited extension of tourist cards, 
limiting the validity of the cards to a 30-day stay and 
allowing only one extension of up to 90 days.  Torrijos also 
stated that Panama was considering implementing visa 
requirements for several countries.  (Note: Although Torrijos 
did not mention specific countries, it was widely understood 
that imposition of visa requirements was squarely aimed at 
Colombia.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Lewis told Ambassador that deputy head of the 
Council for Public Security and National Defense (CSPDN) 
Marcel Salamin had returned from a successful visit to 
Colombia to discuss coordination of immigration systems. 
According to Lewis, Salamin secured real-time access for 
Panama to the Colombian criminal databases to better track 
entry and exit of Colombians.  Lewis said that when Colombian 
officials realized that Panama was seriously considering 
imposing a visa requirement on Colombians, Colombia was very 
forthcoming on sharing information.  However, Lewis added 
that Panama had neither the space to detain visa violators 
nor the means to deport them. 
 
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PREVENTING VIOLENCE THROUGH ASSET SEIZURES 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (U) Besides toughening sanctions against youth offenders, 
Torrijos also proposed measures to prevent youth violence. 
These included a separate comprehensive law on child 
protection as well as programs for troubled youth and 
detention centers geared to rehabilitate youth offenders.  To 
fund these programs, Torrijos announced that cash and assets 
seized from drug and other criminal busts would be directed 
toward such initiatives. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) MFA Senior Advisor Adolfo Ahumada told POLCOUNS 
March 30 that the GOP planned to include in the law a 
provision allowing the GOP to seize bulk cash from criminal 
operations and to spend it instead of holding the funds in 
escrow.  Furthermore, to recover seized cash, Ahumada 
explained that defendants would need to demonstrate that the 
country from which bulk cash had been shipped permitted bulk 
cash transfers.  The provision would also allow the GOP to 
apply the law retroactively in cases of "public interest." 
According to Ahumada, this would affect approximately $20 
million in seized cash and goods.  (Note: DEA has long 
encouraged the GOP to adopt such a provision.) 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8.  (SBU) Panama's press and opposition commentators have 
made much hay over the fact that this "security plan" is 
Torrijos's fourth plan since he assumed office over thirty 
months ago.  It remains to be seen how effective the program 
will be in combating crime versus simply mollifying public 
outrage.  Torrijos stated that the new measures are meant in 
no way to erode social, human, or constitutional rights, but 
given Panama's poor and overcrowded prison system, it will be 
interesting to see how the proposed reforms to the juvenile 
system will play out. 
 
EATON