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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #0523/01 1812112
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 302112Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3542
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2820
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 2027
RHMFISS/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DIRJIATF SOUTH
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 000523 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: EARLY INDICATIONS ON SECURITY POLICY OF 
NEW GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: PANAMA 00725/08 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
 (d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C)  The incoming government of Panama will not/not 
dismantle the National Frontier Service (SENAFRONT) or the 
National Aero-Naval Service (SENAN), two of the key security 
services created by the reforms of the outgoing government of 
Martin Torrijos (see reftel). This is one of Post's key 
conclusions following a series of meetings between the 
Ambassador and President-elect Ricardo Martinelli, Vice 
President-elect and Foreign Minister-designate Juan Carlos 
Varela, and Minister of Government and Justice-elect Jose 
Raul Mulino. The new government also strongly supports the 
continuation of Panamax, and is broadly supportive of the 
Embassy's strategy for the Darien, as laid out in our 
recently approved 1207 proposal. There also seems to be a 
strong interest in greater cooperation with Colombia to deal 
with the FARC presence in the Darien. Varela has indicated 
concerns about how our Sensitive Investigative Units (SIU) 
function, but Post is working to allay his concerns. End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Cosmetic Changes to Security Reforms 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C)  "We are not going to dismantle SENAFRONT," Varela 
told the Ambassador June 17. He said that while there might 
be some superficial changes, neither SENAFRONT nor SENAN 
would be dismantled, and that the incoming government was 
unlikely to remove SENAFRONT Director Frank Abrego or SENAN 
Director Rigoberto Gordon. (Comment: Both of these men have 
been very successful at raising the operational effectiveness 
of their units, and enjoy good relations with the Embassy. 
End Comment.) Varela said there might be cosmetic changes, 
including changes in name and uniform. Incoming Panamanian 
National Police (PNP) Director Gustavo Perez told PolOff May 
7 that SENAFRONT would be folded back into the PNP, as it had 
been before the reforms, but would retain functional 
independence. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Varela extended no such assurances about the 
National Intelligence and Security Service (SENIS), which was 
also created in the same reform process. Democratic Change 
(CD) security advisor Jaime Abad told PolOff on March 23 that 
Martinelli deeply distrusted the SENIS, and wanted to 
dismantle it. However, Varela indicated that the government 
would wait until they had had a chance to fully analyze how 
the SENIS was functioning before making any decisions. 
 
-------------- 
I Love Panamax 
-------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  "I love Panamax," President-elect Martinelli told 
the Ambassador June 18, after the Ambassador explained the 
multi-national naval exercise and the Panamanian national 
security planning exercise that takes place at the same time, 
Panamax Alpha. Garuz was given a detailed briefing on Panamax 
during the Final Planning Conference in Panama June 2, to 
help familiarize the incoming government with the major 
exercise. Garuz said he was pleased with the briefing, and 
looked forward to the exercise. 
 
--------------------------- 
Shared Vision on the Darien 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  Varela said he was "totally on the same page" with 
Post's Darien strategy in his June 17 meeting with the 
Ambassador. He said he wanted to pursue a law-enforcement 
approach to the Darien, and welcomed the Embassy's focus on 
intelligence, combined counter-narcotics operations, and a 
progressively stronger SENAFRONT presence establishing 
control of population centers as the best way forward. Varela 
 
also told the Ambassador that he was very interested in the 
governance aspects of the Darien strategy and wished to 
discuss them further. Martinelli told the Ambassador that the 
FARC posed a clear danger in the Darien, and needed to be 
dealt with, though he did not have any concrete plans for 
moving forward, beyond a vague plan for a "land operation." 
 
¶6.  (C) Minister of Government and Justice-designate Jose 
Raul Mulino told the Ambassador on June 23 that he, Varela 
and Martinelli had discussed increased cooperation against 
the FARC on the Colombian border with President Uribe at a 
recent meeting. He said they discussed: 1) increasing the 
security presence on both sides of the border; 2) increasing 
cooperation on migration issues, so the Panamanian 
authorities would know in advance who was entering Panama 
from Colombia via air; and 3) creating an information 
operation for the FARC in the Darien that would encourage 
them to de-mobilize, and then send them to Colombia for 
insertion in their program. Mulino said that "we will do what 
we have to do" to capture the leaders of the FARC in Panama, 
and limit their ability to operate. He said that there was 
pressure to take decisive action, as there was a danger that 
Colombia would launch a unilateral cross-border operation, 
which he said would be a disaster for Panama. 
 
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Wither SIUs? 
------------ 
 
¶7.  (C)  Varela told the Ambassador that he was concerned 
about the existence of police units in Panama that responded 
to USG agencies and not the host government. He said he 
believed such units "allowed drug shipments to get through" 
in order to capture cartel leaders, at the expense of 
Panamanian security. The Embassy organized a security 
briefing for leaders of the incoming government on June 23 to 
overcome concerns such as this, and to present the USG 
security strategy in Panama (septel). 
 
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Comment 
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¶6.  (C)  Post believes that the incoming Martinelli 
government will not/not dismantle SENAFRONT or SENAN. The 
Ambassador and EmbOffs have been stressing the importance of 
these organizations since before the May 3 election, and the 
message seems to have been received. Together with the strong 
indications that Abrego and Gordon will remain in place at 
least for the immediate future, this puts our continuing 
security cooperation on sound footing. We also welcome 
Martinelli's strong commitment to Panamax, and anticipate no 
problems maintaining this important exercise throughout his 
presidency. The strong support for improved governance and 
law-enforcement in the Darien voiced by Varela and Mulino 
bode well for Post's Darien strategy, which is on track to be 
funded with the recently approved 1207 funds. While Varela's 
concerns about USG direct support to PNP units, referring to 
Post's Sensitive Investigative Units (SIUs), on which much of 
our successful counter-narcotics work is based, is troubling, 
we believe that he can be reassured on this account. Post 
will report septel on our efforts to reassure him on this 
score. 
STEPHENSON