PANAMA AND CUBA SET TO REESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC TIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 001416 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND WHA/CCA SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2010 TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD PM CU POL CHIEF SUBJECT: PANAMA AND CUBA SET TO REESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC TIES REF: 2004 PANAMA 2152 Classified By: AMBASSADOR LINDA WATT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). (C) Panamanian Minister of Foreign Relations Samuel Lewis July 1 told POL Counselor that he would soon inform Ambassador Watt that Panama and Cuba will reestablish diplomatic relations in the near future. Lewis said the Cubans recently indicated a willingness to exchange ambassadors and mend fences with Panama. Bilateral relations have been in limbo since late August 2004, in the waning days of the Moscoso government, following Moscoso's pardon of Luis Posada Carriles and three other anti-Castro Cubans (three of them AmCits),who had been incarcerated in Panama following their conviction on charges related to an alleged attempt to assassinate Castro in November 2000. (See Reftel, "Panama and Cuba in Escalating Diplomatic War over anti-Castro Detainees".) Lewis explained that the exact timing of the public announcement was not known, adding, "The Cubans are unpredictable." WATT