PANAMA: G/TIP AND WHA/PPC VISIT TO PANAMA FEBRUARY

UNCLAS PANAMA 000320

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

G/TIP LINDA BROWN
WHA/PPC MIKE PUCCETTI
WHA/CEN GREG SCHIFFER

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: G/TIP AND WHA/PPC VISIT TO PANAMA FEBRUARY
8-9, 2006


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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Embassy greatly appreciated the visit of GTIP
Reports Officer Linda Brown and WHA/PPC Senior Advisor Mike
Puccetti. Meetings with Government of Panama (GOP),EmbOffs,
and visits to NGO were productive and helpful. Embassy looks
forward to working with GTIP to complete the annual
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. End summary.


2. (SBU) GTIP's February 2006 visit to Panama began with
the Pol Counselor and DHS/ICE Attache providing an in-depth
overview of the trafficking situation in Panama. Brown and
Puccetti accompanied by EmbOffs then visited three shelters
for trafficking and abuse victims. Hogar Malambo, the first
shelter visited, was the most impressive. Hogar Malambo
shelters 160 children from infants to age 18 in small group
homes. Seven nuns, 70 employees, and volunteers create a
warm and caring environment for the children. Hogar Malambo
receives 85% of its funding through private donations. The
remainder of its funding is a $160,000 grant from the GOP's
Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). Panama recently
received a $126,000 GTIP ESF grant to assist trafficking
victims and Hogar Malambo will receive $50,000 of this award
to construct a shelter for TIP victims. The grant will
nearly match the GOP's annual funding to Hogar Malambo.


3. (SBU) The NGO portion of the visit continued with a tour
of Casa Esperanza, an NGO funded children's center in
Panama's gritty Curundu neighborhood. The center provides a
broad range of services in a difficult neighborhood including
preschool programs to prepare children for kindergarten,
after school programs for older children, and even "Parenting
101" classes. Casa Esperanza operates 41 centers throughout
Panama including 14 school programs on coffee plantations.
Although Casa Esperanza does not specifically help
trafficking victims, its work illustrates the strong
partnership between the GOP and NGOs in addressing social
problems. The last shelter visited was Casa Hogar, a center
for juveniles who committed petty offenses. Casa Hogar's
environment is different from the other shelters visited.
MIDES will use $10,000 of the GTIP ESF grant to remodel a
shelter at Casa Hogar for TIP victims.


4. (SBU) GTIP and WHA/PPC also met with Panama Attorney
General Ana Matilde Gomez during the first day of the visit.
Gomez serves as President of the National Committee to
Prevent Sex Crimes (CONAPREDES),which coordinates the GOP's
overall anti-TIP efforts. CONAPREDES draws on membership
from MIDES, the Ministry of Government and Justice, the
Director of the Judicial Technical (Investigative) Police,
and the Ministries of Education and Health. Gomez spoke
about a variety of anti-TIP programs and answered questions.
She also emphatically stated her opposition to Panama's
"alternadora" visa for prostitutes. In February, she plans
to write a formal letter to President Torrijos asking him to
sponsor legislation to abolish the visa. (Note: During the
meeting, Gomez also asked to meet with GTIP Ambassador Miller
during her March visit to Washington.)


5. (SBU) On the second day of their visit, Brown and
Puccetti had a two-hour meeting the Vice Minister of
Government and Justice (MOGJ) Olga Golcher and the Director
of Immigration Ricardo Vargas. The meeting featured an
in-depth discussion of the "alternadora" visa program.
Vargas outlined the administrative details of the program.
The owner of a business, their attorney, and the applicant
for the visa must appear in Immigration to initiate the visa
application. The business must post $350 to guarantee its
compliance with the employment contract. The alternadora
visa recipients are then required to come to Immigration by
themselves every three months with their passport and visa.
The quarterly visits also allows Immigration to verify their
safety and well being. Brown inquired about situations where
business owners had confiscated women's passports. Vargas
replied he had not seen any situations like that since he
began his work in Immigration. Vargas did describe a
situation in 2003 where a club owner was holding the
passports of alternadora visa holders. The Ombudsman's
Office, where Vargas worked at that time, received a report
about the situation. Immigration intervened to ensure the
passports were returned to the women.


6. (SBU) Vargas spoke about the overall immigration
situation in Panama. Approximately 150,000 Colombians live
in Panama, a country of only 3 million people. Colombians
hold 90% of the alternadora visas, a reflection of the
traditional migration patterns and information sharing in
this community. Puccetti asked Vargas how the GOP controls
the inflow of alternadora applicants since Colombians do not
require visas to enter Panama. Vargas responded that
Colombians arriving at the airport must have $500 to show
solvency or they are returned to their country. Immigration
also controls the issuance of the alternadora visas. Visa
holders must leave the country after one year. Immigration
does not issue new alternadora visas until a current holder
departs Panama. Vice Minister Golcher was receptive to
Brown's suggestion that Panamanian "visa cards" sold for $5
in Colombia should include TIP information along with phone
numbers to relevant Panamanian authorities.


7. (SBU) The remainder of the second day was spent visiting
other GOP officials. MFA Legal Director Iani Quadri gave the
visitors a printed report on Panama's anti-TIP efforts with
statistical information. Quadri spoke about plans to
strengthen Panama's anti-TIP law and ongoing cooperation
between the GOP, UNESCO, and IOM to stop TIP. UNESCO
recently developed a map of routes used by traffickers
throughout Central America. Also, in March the seven nation
Central American Integration Committee (SICA) will discuss
regional TIP issues. MIDES Vice Minister Doris Zapata
thanked Brown and Puccetti for the recently approved TIP
grant and spoke of its importance to Panama. The final
meeting occurred at the Judicial Technical (Investigative)
Police (PTJ) Sex Crimes Unit. PTJ Inspector Ortega described
how TIP reports are received form hotline calls, citizen
complaints, Interpol, and international cooperation.
Ortega's office concentrates their efforts on sexual
exploitation and human trafficking. Once his unit receives a
complaint, they have 60 days to investigate it and forward
their opinion to the Public Ministry. During January 2006,
the PTJ hotline received over 200 calls.


8. (SBU) Panama appears to be making sincere efforts to
stop trafficking and to enhance its current programs and law
enforcement efforts. Embassy believes the GOP should
dedicate more resources to anti-TIP efforts, improve
interagency coordination, and inform the public about the
often hidden dangers of the problem. Although Panama enacted
a strong anti-TIP law in 2004, the courts have not yet
convicted anyone. However, this is not surprising since on
average, a court case in Panama takes two years to move from
the initial arrest to conviction. In March a preliminary
hearing will take place for a massage parlor owner accused of
trafficking. Successfully prosecuting and convicting a
Panamanian under the 2004 anti-TIP legislation would send a
strong signal that Panama means business.


EATON