VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #0446/01 1511809
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 301809Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2114
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000446 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM KJUS MARR MASS MOPS PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA:  "MILITARIZATION" DEBATE RE-SURFACES 
 
Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian R. Naranjo.  Reasons:  1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Panama's ever-smoldering "militarization" debate 
reignited over the past couple of weeks as Panamanian opinion 
shapers and leaders -- largely associated with the 
opposition, at least in opinion -- voiced their concerns that 
the GOP might be undertaking what they perceived as an 
ill-advised effort to rebuild Panama's military.  These 
concerns emerged in the wake of a perceived convergence of 
developments: 
 
(a) President Martin Torrijos' recent "secretive" visit to 
Washington (May 5-7); 
(b) Reporting on SECDEF Gates' May 6 letter (reported in a 
defense trade journal and echoed in Panama's media) equating 
Panama's civilian public forces (i.e., the Panamanian 
National Police (PNP) and other civilian security forces) 
with a military; and 
(c) the appointment on May 13 in an acting capacity of a 
former military officer and currently uniformed member of the 
PNP as Director General. 
 
This debate is taking place in the midst of Panama's 
tumultuous primary election season and as the Torrijos 
Administration is taking hits for increases in crime and 
economic uncertainty.  First VP and FM Samuel Lewis told 
Ambassador on May 13 that he was unconcerned by the 
anti-militarization critique; "People want security.  Nobody 
is really following this militarization debate, except for a 
few crazies like Bobby Eisenmann," sentiments that were 
subsequently echoed by Minister of Government and Justice 
Daniel Delgado.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Torrijos' "Secret" Washington Agenda Stirs Speculation 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2. (C) Even before Torrijos departed for his May 5-7 visit to 
Washington, media outlets speculated as to the "real" purpose 
for Torrijos' visit.  Asserting that the U.S.-Panamanian 
Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) was unlikely to advance 
towards U.S. ratification in the coming months, Panamanian 
media sought to divine the true reason for the trip.  One 
news story, drawing on conversations with ostensible 
cognoscenti, threw out the following as possible objectives 
for Torrijos' visit:  to re-launch talks to establish a 
multi-national counternarcotics center; to establish at the 
former Howard Air Force Base a forward-operating location 
(FOL) to be ready once the FOL in Manta, Ecuador closed; and 
to seek radars to help Panama confront the threat posed by 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Panama's 
Darien Province.  A last-minute meeting between Torrijos and 
SECDEF fed the media speculation.  The Torrijos 
Administration's unwillingness to divulge anything more than 
the fact of a meeting only served to heighten suspicion in 
the media - a media proud of its role in opposing the 
military dictatorship. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Gates:  A military in every way, if not in name 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3. (U) Panama's civilian public forces are "a military in 
every way, but not in name," Panamanian media widely reported 
(May 14-23), echoing a story in the U.S. defense trade 
publication "Inside Defense" that cites a May 6 letter from 
SECDEF to the House Armed Services Committee.  According to 
the media reporting, SECDEF's letter further described 
Panama's public forces as functioning in a way consistent 
with national military forces worldwide.  The media also 
segued seamlessly to quoting a May 8 Pentagon briefing in 
which SECDEF appeared to compare Panama's public forces to 
Pakistan's frontier police and noted that Pakistan indeed had 
an army and was currently ruled by a military dictatorship. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
A uniformed man to lead the National Police 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Torrijos appointed former Panamanian Defense Forces 
(PDF) military officer and currently uniformed Panamanian 
National Police (PNP) Commissioner (O-6 equivalent) Jaime 
Ruiz as acting Director General.  Ruiz was named Sub-Director 
in 2007.  News reports of Ruiz's appointment almost always 
mentioned his early training at a military academy in 
Guatemala, during which time Panama was ruled by a military 
dictatorship.  While it specifies that the head of the PNP 
must be civilian, some assert that Panamanian law is silent 
as to whether an "acting" Director General may be a uniformed 
officer.  For example, Patriotic Union (UP) party VP Jose 
Raul Mulino, who authored constitutional reforms and 
legislation in the Endara Administration, to disband the PDF 
and ensure that the PNP would have strong civilian 
leadership, characterized the Torrijos Administration's 
sleight of hand as "fully against the spirit and letter of 
the law."  The Torrijos Administration dismissed this 
assertion, echoed in a number of opinion articles. 
 
---------------------------------- 
A Sampling of Editorial Commentary 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  A sampling of editorial commentary taken solely 
from the print media included the following: 
 
-- "The Americans never felt comfortable about Panama's 
decision to eliminate the army and the military forces." -- 
Ebrahim Asvat, Chairman of El Siglo (widely-read daily 
tabloid newspaper); 
 
-- "Secretary Gates' statements have surprised the gullible 
and those who lack malice" in Panama.  Also, "those who have 
been observing the military evolution that has gone from 
simple policemen to soldiers with a military vocation, can 
see that what (Gates) expressed confirms a return to 
militarism."  The appointment of Jaime Ruiz as head of the 
PNP "is not an allergic reaction against career soldiers," 
but against a system that "caused the Republic so much 
torment, insecurity, and loss of credibility.  The Panamanian 
people are not afraid of career soldiers, they are afraid of 
the system that leads toward militarization." -- Carlos Ivan 
Zuniga, attorney and former Rector of the University of 
Panama, La Prensa opinion article; 
 
-- "...since Secretary Gates is a product of the gringo 
intelligence sector - yes intelligence! - he needs to be told 
(as the Democrat congressman did) that Panama, is by decision 
of all its people and Constitutional mandate - a neutral and 
demilitarized country."  Also, in criticizing the ruling PRD 
party, "...the pro-gorilla (gorilla: Panamanian term used for 
military officers) stance emerges together with the stupid 
complicity of the gringos who, through US Defense Secretary 
Robert Gates, confess their participation in the 
remilitarization with statements that show, to say the least, 
mental retardation." -- I. Roberto Eisenmann, Jr., former 
president of La Prensa (widely circulated, pro-business 
daily), La Prensa opinion article; 
 
-- Torrijos returned to Panama "armed with courage" following 
his visit to Washington and receiving support from Gates for 
"Panama's remilitarization." -- Miguel Antonio Bernal, Human 
Rights activist and attorney, commentary entitled "Martin, 
the Militarist" in El Panama America (left of center 
newspaper); 
 
Sentiments similar to those expressed in these print media 
excerpts were also expressed in radio and television talk 
shows and other commentary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Lewis, Delgado Downplay Anti-Militarization Critique 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6. (C)  "People want security.  Nobody is really following 
this militarization debate, except for a few crazies like 
Bobby Eisenmann," First VP and FM Samuel Lewis told 
Ambassador on May 13.  Continuing, Lewis downplayed the 
political impact that the anti-militarization critique of the 
Torrijos Administration's recent security-related activities. 
 
 
¶7. (C) Minister of Government and Justice Daniel Delgado 
echoed these comments during a recent visit by the Deputy 
Commander of the US Southrn Command.  In addition to 
discussing a number of GOP initiatives that have caused 
concern about remilitarization, such as the creation of a new 
Aero-Naval Service and Frontier Police, the restructuring of 
the PPF and the creation of a new MOGJ Vice Minister for 
Public Safety, Delgado - a former Major in the PDF himself - 
addressed the recent remilitarization media criticism.  He 
characterized it as criticism from a small minority, and said 
that he believed that the majority of Panamanians wanted a 
more secure country and would trust the government to take 
the appropriate steps to make it so. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (C) The implied and often stated undercurrent of the 
anti-militarization camp is that there is a stealth project 
to remilitarize Panama being carried out by the U.S. and 
their allies in the PRD. Judging by press reports, SECDEF's 
comments were made within the context of advocating for 
Panama's inclusion in the 1206 military assistance program. 
The nuance that Panama's civilian public forces carried out 
the duties and responsibilities normally associated with a 
military and that it was in the U.S. interest to work closely 
with these civilian authorities was lost on Panamanian 
observers and commentators.  The aforementioned events in 
both Panama and Washington, upon which opinion leaders have 
shaped their anti-militarization views, come in the wake of: 
(a) the creation of a stand-alone Frontier Police; (b) the 
possible fusion of the National Maritime Service (SMN) and 
the National Air Service (SAN) into a new Aero-Naval Service; 
and (c) the disbandment of the Technical Judicial Police 
(PTJ) and the move of its personnel and functions to the new 
Judicial Investigative Directorate (DIJ) under the Minister 
of Government and Justice.  The appointment of a uniformed 
person to head the PNP only adds to some Panamanians' belief 
that dark forces are striving to re-store Panama's much 
maligned military.  The legality of naming an "acting" head 
of the PNP is unlikely to be pursued (successfully) in court. 
 The PRD - the party of Omar Torrijos (the current 
president's father) and Manuel Noriega - is grappling with 
primary campaign concerns about economic stability and 
increased crime. Furthermore, growing national concern about 
rising crime -- the third most significant issue cited in 
recent polling -- may blunt objections about having Ruiz at 
the helm of the PNP as long as he is "tough on crime." 
Indeed, in one recent poll, 16 percent of respondents 
indicated that they knew of a family member who had been the 
victim of a robbery or an assault.  Going forward, the USG 
will need to consider this anti-militarization phenomenon as 
it seeks to advance its security engagement with Panama.  End 
Comment. 
EATON