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C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000818 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: DDD TAKES LEAVE OF ABSENCE AFTER MURDER 
ACCUSATION FROM 38 YEARS AGO 
 
REF: PANAMA 00725 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
 (d) 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C)  President Martin Torrijos accepted Minister of 
Government and Justice Daniel Delgado Diamante's (DDD) 
request for 30 days unpaid leave, at DDD's request, following 
newspaper revelations about a killing the Minister committed 
38 years ago. DDD admitted he was responsible for the 
killing, but claimed it was a "police action" for which he 
had already been investigated, and punished. This version has 
been challenged by the victims family in an investigative 
report in the daily La Prensa, which accuses DDD of murder. 
DDD said he asked to be removed so he could concentrate on 
defending his "honor." Presidential candidates Ricardo 
Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela called on President 
Torrijos to remove DD permanently.  DDD will be replaced 
temporarily by Vice Minister for Public Security Rodrigo 
Cigarruista. Cigarruista is not a powerful political figure, 
and is probably being used in this position due to his low 
profile, and lack of any Noriega-era connections. DDD had 
become a lightning rod for those groups opposed to the 
security laws, and Post will break off contact with him while 
he is out of office to avoid involving the USG in an internal 
Panamanian politico-judicial conflict. Post encourages all 
USG agencies to avoid contact with DDD at this time. End 
Summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
Ghosts Come Back to Haunt DDD 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  President Martin Torrijos temporarily removed 
Minister of Government and Justice Daniel Delgado Diamante 
(DDD) on October 22 by granting him leave without pay for 30 
days. DDD had requested the time to dedicate himself to 
"defending his honor" after the Panama City daily La Prensa 
published a story on October 20 claiming that DDD had killed 
Corporal Andres Garcia in 1970, while DDD was a Second 
Lieutenant in Garcia's unit. The story contained extensive 
testimony from Garcia's widow, sister and several soldiers 
who witnessed parts of the alleged incident 38 years ago. 
According to La Prensa's version of events, DDD shot Garcia, 
who was allegedly unarmed, to death inside Garcia's home 
after kicking in the door. The witnesses quoted in the story 
claim that DDD was furious because a hungover Garcia had 
refused his orders not to leave the base and go home. La 
Prensa claimed that DDD was never investigated or punished 
for the crime, but rather that Omar Torrijos ordered a 
cover-up of the incident, out of respect for an old 
friendship with DDD's father. Garcia's widow and the other 
witnesses in the story all claim they were never called to 
testify as part of any investigation, and that DDD was simply 
transferred to an office job for a month after the incident, 
before being named one of Omar Torrijos' body guards. 
Garcia's widow was reportedly given a government job after 
the incident. 
 
-------------------- 
DDD Pleads - Guilty? 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  DDD has had several different reactions in the last 
few days. He first admitted that he had killed Garcia, 
calling it a "police action," thus implying that he had used 
justifiable force. He has since claimed that he was already 
investigated, and the case was closed. Attorney General Ana 
Matilde Gomez has opened a formal investigation into the 
case, but must first determine whether there was ever a 
formal investigation, to avoid placing DDD in double 
jeopardy. (Comment: This may be as far as the investigation 
goes, since it may be impossible to determine with sufficient 
certainty that he was not investigated. Gomez has already 
noted that there is no requirement to keep records from that 
long ago. End Comment) According to La Prensa, the documents 
DDD presented to the Attorney General only indicate an 
internal National Guard investigation, and claim that Garcia 
was armed with a bayonet, and that he lunged at DDD. DDD has 
also argued that he was already punished for his actions, and 
 
there is a record of it in his service file. La Prensa has 
published what it claims to be copies of his service file, 
where nothing about the incident appears. 
 
----------------- 
Opposition Reacts 
----------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  Presidential candidates Ricardo Martinelli and Juan 
Carlos Varela called on President Torrijos to fire DDD 
immediately. Martinelli accused Torrijos of being "afraid" 
and said the former military officers in the government had 
him "kidnapped", according to reports in La Prensa October 
¶23. Varela, who called on DDD to be removed or to resign in a 
La Prensa report on October 21, was saying that the security 
of the state was at stake in comments reported in La Prensa 
on October 23. Balbina Herrera praised DDD's decision to take 
leave without pay according to the same paper, and said she 
hoped everything would be "cleared up" and "turn out all 
right." La Prensa also reported that leaders of the 
Democratic Citizen's Network (RCD), which has led the 
opposition to the security reforms (see reftel) called on 
Torrijos to fire DDD immediately. Mauro Zuniga called having 
someone who had admitted to killing a Panamanian as Minister 
of Government and Justice "immoral," while Roberto (Bobby) 
Eisenmann said President Torrijos was "committing political 
suicide" by keeping DDD as Minister. 
 
----------------------- 
Who's Watching the Pot? 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U)  The President named Vice Minister for Public 
Security Rodrigo Cigarruista as Acting Minister of Government 
and Justice until November 23. Cigarruista has no military 
past, and is generally seen as a technocrat. He is also not 
known to have any political powerbase within the ruling 
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). 
 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  DDD has become a self-inflicted casualty of the 
security reform laws he has played such a key role in 
promoting. It seems clear La Prensa began its investigation 
around the time the security reforms were first mooted. The 
accusation is well known, and DDD has even talked to EmbOffs 
about it in the past. It had not been persued before now 
because DDD was seen as a changed man, who had gained the 
forbearance, and in some cases the respect, of the non-PRD 
political elite. The security laws have had a profound impact 
on how that elite looks at the Panamanian Defense Forces 
(PDF) veterans (like DDD) who are in the GOP, and many things 
are now being reinterpreted to fit the newly perceived 
intention of this group to re-militarize Panama. DDD is seen 
as the spearhead of this movement, and happens to be one of 
the easiest people to attack. With several "skeletons" in his 
closet (he was accused by the Truth Commission of being 
involved in the death of Felix Serrano in 1983) and a very 
bad temper, he is a perfect foil for the new "civilista" 
movement. Unlike RDC's usual tactic of making accusations 
unsupported by any evidence, La Prensa has done the kind of 
quiet investigative work which, if continued, could bring out 
many more ugly secrets from the time of the dictatorship 
(there are already indications in the political gossip 
columns of more cases on the way). This would be yet another 
unwelcome outcome of the botched introduction of the security 
laws for the Torrijos Administration. 
 
¶6.  (C)  It is not clear what direction this will now go. 
Gomez could very easily decide the case can not be 
investigated for whatever technical reason, and DDD could 
return. It is important to note that the accusation 
implicates Martin Torrijos' father Omar Torrijos directly, as 
being responsible for a conspiracy. So we may well have DDD 
back soon. If so, it will become a huge political issue, with 
the opposition and civilista leaders demanding Balbina 
Herrera take a position on DDD - and by association on the 
crimes committed throughout the dictatorship. If, as likely, 
she backs DDD, it could hurt her significantly among 
independents, and end up costing her the election. So it is 
likely a brutal battle will be fought within the 
 
Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) over what to do now. 
Defend the legacy of Omar Torrijos to the bitter end, even at 
the cost of Balbina Herrera's candidacy, or quietly cut DDD 
loose? 
 
¶7.  (C)  Cigarruista is a place holder for DDD. He has no 
political weight to challenge other heavy hitters in the 
government, and no past to attract the ire of the opposition. 
If Cigarruista's appointment becomes permanent this may cause 
a shift with the power structure of the GOP (this will be 
examined septel). Post is most concerned about how the 
civilista opposition to the security laws reacts to DDD's 
removal from the stage.  Determined to keep the security laws 
as a front burner issue as the elections approach, they will 
have to start looking for a new angle. In recent weeks the 
USG has managed to stay entirely out of the op-ed pages. We 
may be dragged back into the security reform debate by a 
movement in need of a new target. In an effort to avoid this, 
post will avoid contact with DDD and seek press on a range of 
other issues - support for community policing, education, 
exchanges (a surprisingly hot issue in Panama), protection of 
the environment - with an eye to drowning for good the 
"Militarization:  Made in the USA" story line. 
STEPHENSON