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C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000813 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS KCRM SNAR PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: PROSECUTORS UNDER PRESSURE, ASK FOR HELP 
 
REF: PANAMA 00793 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and  (d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C)  Panamanian Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez told 
the Ambassador October 10 that she wanted to create an 
infrastructure to facilitate prosecutorial collaboration 
among Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and the U.S. to send a 
strong message to international criminal organizations that 
they were not free to operate in Panama. She said such an 
infrastructure was urgently needed to lock in security 
cooperation with the U.S. and Panama's neighbors in the face 
of a future government that might not support such close 
security and law enforcement cooperation. At the same time, 
Gomez said the GOP had rejected her budget request of $79 
million, and instead recommended a budget of $35 million, 
representing a $29 million budget cut from this year. She 
said that this budget cut was intended to "clip my wings" for 
not "playing along" with the Torrijos Administration. She 
asked for help from the U.S. to fill the gap, especially 
given the serious challenges that face Panama as it prepared 
to initiate the first phase of the transition to an 
accusatorial law system in 11 months. Staff members who 
accompanied the A/G were very negative about the prospects of 
a successful introduction of the new legal system and 
predicted chaos. End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Tighten Collaboration Now, Against Uncertain Future 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (C)  Panamanian A/G Ana Matilde Gomez met with the 
Ambassador and EmbOffs October 10. Gomez stated she wanted to 
organize a conference on organized crime together with the 
A/Gs of Costa Rica and Colombia, and a high-level U.S. 
 
official. She said the aim of this conference was to show a 
united face to international criminal organizations that the 
region was united against them, and that the U.S. was 
cooperating closely to support their efforts. She said this 
conference should be followed by the creation of an 
institutional structure to coordinate the fight against these 
organizations. Gomez said that current head of the Panamanian 
National Police (PNP) Directorate of Judicial Investigation 
(DIJ), Jose Ayu Prado, would soon return to the Public 
Ministry to take over a new position as Prosecutor for 
Organized Crime. Gomez said this effort was important because 
the next government might not be as dedicated as this one to 
the fight against international crime. In that case the 
Public Ministry, which is not subject to the government's 
control, would have to spearhead the fight. Gomez said she 
needed U.S. support for this project, including technological 
support, so Ayu Prado's office would become a significant 
deterrent to international criminal organizations, preventing 
them from establishing themselves in Panama. 
 
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Budget Cuts Despite Major Challenges 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (C)  Gomez told the Ambassador that the GOP had rejected 
her budget request of $79 million, and instead recommended 
$35 million, a $29 million budget cut from this year. She 
said this budget cut was to "clip my wings" for not "playing 
along" with the GOP. Gomez highlighted that these budget cuts 
would devastate her efforts to fund the transformations in 
the Public Ministry needed to prepare for the introduction of 
the accusatorial law system, the first stage of which would 
come into effect in 11 months. Gomez and her top advisors 
told the Ambassador what they believe is needed to prepare 
for the new system, which included: new labs to examine 
evidence, courses on how to handle evidence, training about 
how to manage a crime scene, training on how to argue oral 
cases, training on how to interrogate and cross examine, and 
the funds to develop a witness protection program. Rigoberto 
Gonzalez, Secretary General of the Public Ministry, stressed 
the need to develop a reference library of "Anglo-Saxon" 
legal books, to help the prosecutors learn about the new 
system. 
 
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Judicial Reform Train Wreck? 
---------------------------- 
¶4.  (C)  Many of Gomez's closest advisors were very negative 
on the viability of the accusatorial system.  Jose Vicente 
Pachar, head of the Legal Medicine Institute, responsible for 
all criminal forensic investigations, told PolOff that many 
senior Public Ministry employees did not even understand the 
new system. He said that there was only one lab in all of 
Panama, and that he had no ability to protect evidence 
adequately as it was transported to Panama from distinct 
parts of Panama City to satisfy a judge under the new system. 
National Drug Prosecutor Jose Almengor told PolOff on August 
19 that the new system would be a disaster, because the GOP 
was not investing enough money to adequately train all the 
members of the judicial system. He said even with training, 
it would be impossible to get judges to authorize searches in 
time to catch criminals. Magaly Castillo, head of the 
judicial NGO Citizen's Alliance Pro-Justice (ACPJ) which 
championed the reform and a close friend of Gomez, told 
PolOff September 15 that she was worried about the future of 
the project because few people in the Public Ministry or the 
Judiciary really understand it. She said the reform was 
approved by a small group of very dedicated people, but that 
there was not deep support for it, and that this was now 
showing as the judicial organizations and the police had to 
prepare themselves for the change. 
 
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Comment 
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¶5.  (C)  Gomez's worries about the next government not being 
dedicated to fighting international crime may be overblown. 
We have excellent cooperation with the current government, 
and there are no clear signs that Balbina Herrera or the 
other two candidates intend to limit the extensive room USG 
agencies currently have to conduct anti-narcotics and other 
law enforcement activities. That said, we cannot dismiss the 
possibility that appointees of the next government might 
reduce certain forms of cooperation with the U.S. Indeed, per 
reftel we have already seen the impact even low-level GOP 
officials can have in restricting our operating room. Gomez 
is also worried about corruption influencing the new 
government, and that it will affect Panama's effectiveness in 
the fight against organized crime. For this reason, Gomez is 
reaching out to strengthen her direct ties to us, since her 
term will extend through the next government. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Meanwhile, it also seems the GOP does not understand 
the full implications of the switch to the accusatorial 
system, and may not succeed in putting in place all the 
personnel, training, and infrastructure investments the 
change will require. Gonzalez's comment on the need for a 
library on "Anglo-Saxon" legal books, as though they were 
introducing a common law system and not an accusatorial 
system, indicates that even top officials surrounding the A/G 
do not understand basic issues involved in the switch. 
Failure to put the necessary pieces in place now could lead 
to major problems when the new system is introduced, leading 
to a rise in impunity, and further eroding the state's 
credibility as a guardian of the people. Post is watching 
this issue closely, and looking for creative ways to assist. 
STEPHENSON