Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PANAMA1802
2005-09-01 15:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Panama
Cable title:  

PANAMAX 2005: TRAGIC LOSS MARS GREAT SUCCESS

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PANAMA 001802 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM LABOR HUMAN RIGHTSPOLMIL
SUBJECT: PANAMAX 2005: TRAGIC LOSS MARS GREAT SUCCESS

SUMMARY
--------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PANAMA 001802

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM LABOR HUMAN RIGHTSPOLMIL
SUBJECT: PANAMAX 2005: TRAGIC LOSS MARS GREAT SUCCESS

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) PANAMAX 2005, a twelve-day, fifteen-nation
military exercise involving the defense of the Panama Canal,
concluded August 16. Although all participants viewed this
year's multinational exercise as a great success, the
drowning deaths of three Panamanian Marines during the
exercise's final phase dampened any sense of jubilation. The
loss of three marines in this third annual PANAMAX exercise,
combined with the death of a marine during basic training in
January, has resulted in recent unrelenting media criticism
of the National Maritime Service (SMN) and its director Rear
Admiral Ricardo (Richie) Traad. The ability to defend the
Canal against attacks or disruption of shipping is vital to
the economy of Panama and other users of the Canal, a key
transit point for regional and international movement of
container ships, grain, petroleum, and cruise ships. The USS
BATAAN was the flagship for the exercise and served as the
command and control center for the 150 foreign military
officials who made up the multinational Combined Joint Task
Force (CJTF 138). End summary.


Exercise scenario sounds familiar?
--------------

2. (SBU) This year's exercise marked the third annual
deployment of multinational forces to the areas surrounding
the Atlantic and Pacific entries to the Canal. The exercise
has grown from three nations and three ships in 2003 to 15
nations and 35 ships in 2005. Planning for this year's
exercise took place in a series of three meetings that
stretched from February to June that occurred both in Panama
and at U.S. Southern Command Headquarters in Miami. The
exercise scenario was designed by representatives of all the
participating nations. The scenario was built around a
terrorist group recruiting new members and stockpiling
weapons to attack the canal. As in Tom Clancy's "Red Storm
Rising," the terrorist's intentions are discovered when a
member of the group is killed in a car accident while
carrying documents related to the planned attack. When
another member of the terrorist group is captured by the
police, also carrying information about an operation against
the Panama Canal, the planned attack is confirmed and Panama
requests a multinational coalition assistance to defend the
canal.

Sovereignty
--------------

3. (SBU) Sovereignty throughout the Panama Canal is a
serious issue for Panama and only Panamanian forces were
allowed to operate in the actual canal and coastal waters
throughout the exercise. Because Panama officially has no
armed forces, PANAMAX is portrayed as a defensive exercise to
maintain the operation of the Canal. Argentina, Canada,
Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras,
Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the United States participated in
the operational phase of the exercise. Costa Rica, El
Salvador, France, and Uruguay were observers. (Note: British
Ambassador James Malcom told PolCounselor the UK had wanted
to participate in the exercise but had not received an
invitation in time to deploy a ship. Next year England plans
to deploy a ship in anticipation of the exercise. End
comment.)



Panama likes Embassy's suggestion
--------------

4. (SBU) PolCounselor encouraged Panama to develop a
PANAMAX briefing for the diplomatic corps and attaches and
provided SMN with a suggested list of 27 countries to invite.
On August 11, Traad made his presentation on PANAMAX 2005 to
a group of diplomats and attaches from 12 countries and
Panama's Vice President and Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis
Navarro. This was the first briefing of this type done by
Panama and is viewed as a positive step toward Panama taking
more ownership of this increasingly significant annual
exercise. Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Japan, Russia,
United Kingdom, and the United States all sent
representatives to the briefing. France was apparently
invited to the briefing - there was a reserved seat with
their First Secretary's name - but no one attended. The
briefing occurred at SMN Headquarters on Cocle Naval Base,
the former United States Rodman Naval Base.


5. (SBU) Judy Meana, SMN Public Affairs Officer and a
former news personality began the briefing by emphasizing the
multinational nature of the exercise and reemphasized the
stated objective - the ability to defend the Panama Canal.
The presentation then shifted to Traad who continued the
emphasis on the multinational nature of the exercise and the
importance of defending the canal in order to protect
regional and world trade. Traad stressed the importance of
the participating countries developing interoperability and
teamwork during PANAMAX. The exercise used several
scenarios: a plot to blow up a ship to block the entrance to
the canal, a mine field being deployed near the Atlantic
entrance to the Canal to disrupt shipping, and terrorist
attacks against crucial choke points inside the Canal such as
locks, dams, and the narrow Culebra channel. The ability to
protect crucial canal facilities against terrorist attacks
involved the use of Panamanian land forces. Traad reviewed
the memorandum of understanding that only Panamanian forces
could operate in the actual Canal during the exercise.

High-level Interest
--------------

6. (SBU) Traad showed a film clip from last year's exercise
and initiated a videoconference from the BATAAN featuring
Vice Admiral Vinson Smith (U.S.),Captain Marcelo Barbieri
(Chile),and Captain Antonio Adames (Panama). Captain
Barbieri mentioned that 80% of Chile's exports travel through
the canal. Vice President Lewis thanked the Task Force
Commanders for their work. Panama's Deputy Minister of
Government and Justice Olga Golcher called it an "exercise in
peace" and said she was proud of the exercise. The next day
Vice President Lewis flew to the BATAAN in a helicopter with
Deputy SOUTHCOM Commander Major General Richard A. Mentemeyer
to receive a briefing on the operational phase of the
exercise and a tour of the ship. Charge and Pol/Counselor
also flew to the BATAAN for a ship and exercise orientation.
Along with its role as the command and control element, the
BATAAN also used its helicopter assets to conduct
minesweeping operations in PANAMAX 2005. Panama's President
Martin Torrijos Espinosa visited the Consolidated Sea
Operations Center (CSOC) at Cocoli.


Tragedy in the Final Hours
--------------

7. (SBU) The three Panamanian Marines died early in the
morning on Sunday August 14 while conducting an amphibious
assault of Huacha Island on Lake Gatun during a unilateral
phase of the exercise. The accident remains under
investigation and no official report has been released by the
Government of Panama (GOP). Sources told the Embassy the
marines who lost their lives exited the boat while still in
deep water. The Panamanians drowned due to the depth of the
water combined with the weight of their equipment. The
Panamanian newspapers ran stories on the tragedy for the next
several days. The articles were generally critical of the
marine's training, preparation, and leadership but did not
castigate Panama's participation in PANAMAX. Embassy will
issue follow-up report once GOP investigation is completed.
The "hot wash" and closing ceremonies on August 17 were
somewhat subdued because of the accident. Many of the
exercise participants attending the concluding ceremonies
wore black ribbons to honor the fallen Panamanians.
Participants reviewed the exercise strengths (diversity of
situations, intelligence sharing) and identified areas that
could be improved (battleforce email, the need for more
forces in the Pacific portion of the exercise). Admiral
Smith expressed his condolences to the Panamanians and
thanked all participants for their efforts and teamwork. A
memorial service was held for the marines following the
closing ceremonies. (Comment: The Attorney General of
Panamanian announced she is reopening an investigation into
the case of the marine who died in January. Initially
reports blamed the death on an aneurysm but reports of
physical abuse and excessive exercise in Panama's jungle heat
appeared in the media this week. Traad, a former Marine
Officer in the Panamanian Defense Forces, will face intense
scrutiny in the coming weeks as the investigations continues.
End comment.)

Sensitivity Re Remilitarization
--------------

8. (SBU) Almost 16 years has passed since the U.S. military
operation that ousted Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. It
has been nearly six years since Panama assumed complete
control of the canal and the last U.S. troops left Panama.
These are very recent events for many Panamanians and the
presence of any U.S. military members is still a "hot-button"
issue with some Panamanians. Although Panama's constitution
prohibits the establishment of a permanent military,
persistent fears of "remilitarization" exist. On August 21,
former Panamanian exile Roberto Eisenmann, founder and
president of the Panamanian daily newspaper La Prensa, wrote
an article admonishing Panamanians that the U.S. military is
dedicated to remilitarizing their country. He warned
Panamanians that another Noriega could result and U.S. troops
would once again die to liberate Panama from a dictatorship.
The lack of widespread criticism or protest against the
U.S.-led exercise is good news and reemphasizes the
importance of exercise planning that takes into account
national sensitivities. We must be alert, however, to
renewed concern in next year's exercise. Additional
attention to Panamanian Public Forces safety measures will be
important to avoid accidents and associated negative media.

ARREAGA