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