TORRIJOS TALKS SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 001497 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PRM AND WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD PM SUBJECT: TORRIJOS TALKS SECURITY Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM EATON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (C) Summary: In a September 6 office call by SouthCom Commander, ADM Stavridis, and Ambassador Eaton, an unusually talkative Panamanian President Torrijos talked about a broad range of security issues, but studiously avoided mentioning the elephant in the room: his ongoing political crisis over the election of Pedro Miguel Gonzales as President of the Panamanian National Assembly. Torrijos previewed an intensified campaign against drug lords, no change in Panama's restrictive refugee policies, a commitment to fulfill requirements necessary to re-start CNIES, pre-emptive actions against violence planned by the SUNTRACS labor union, improved wiretapping capabilities, frustration with the Attorney General, changes in the Panamanian Police Force leadership and structure, creation of a Coast Guard, and comments on Colombia and Nicaragua. End summary. -------------- -------------- Torrijos goes after Colombian capos; gets armored limo -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Torrijos announced that Panamanian Security forces had identified 200 "capos" of the Colombian drug cartels that were living and operating freely in Panama. He said that the GOP was going after them and they expected the capos to strike back. As a result of threats, Torrijos confided that he is planning to buy an armored vehicle for himself. He added that Drug Prosecutor Jose Abel Almengor (a close DEA contact) had been whisked to a safe house with his family in response to recent death threats. (DEA,s assessment was that these threats were not credible). Nevertheless, Torrijos asserted that his government would continue to fight aggressively against drug trafficking in Panama before drug cartels gained a permanent foothold here. -------------- -------------- We are not going to be pressured into taking more refugees -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Part of the problem, Torrijos said, is that there are large numbers of Colombian "refugees" in Panama. Costa Rica, he said, had 50,000 Colombian refugees and 90 percent of which are associated with drug trafficking and other criminal activity. Torrijos said that Panama would not bow to UN pressure to accept more so-called refugees from Colombia since Panama didn't want to throw out the welcome mat for criminals as Costa Rica had done. -------------- Torrijos focuses on CNIES -------------- ¶4. (C) Ambassador pointed out that the Cooperating Nations Information Exchange System (CNIES) is a tool that can help both Panama and the United States in the fight against illegal drug traffic. One of the remaining key steps before that flow of information can resume is the issuance of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) by Panamanian Civil Aviation authorities. Torrijos seemed surprised that the NOTAM had not been issued and promised to intervene personally to ensure that it gets done quickly. Torrijos added that Panama needs that flow of information and the cooperation it represents in the fight against drug trafficking. -------------- Troublesome labor union in GOP sights -------------- ¶5. (C) Torrijos praised the abilities of his newly appointed Minister of Government and Justice (MOGJ),Daniel Delgado Diamante (DDD),saying he had an excellent understanding of security issues. Torrijos added that he now has a much better flow of information from MOGJ since DDD calls him every morning at 7 a.m. with a security briefing on developments in the country. DDD, he said, was proactive. He has great sources inside the restive trade union SUNTRACS and finds out when they are planning demonstrations or road-blocks and preempts the demonstrations by being on site before the demonstrators. The demonstrators can demonstrate, but they can no longer block the roads or incite violence. ¶6. (C) Torrijos said that SUNTRACS wants nothing less than to overthrow the current political and democratic system by violence, if necessary. "We cannot permit that," he said. "Our national security is at stake," he added. Torrijos said that SUNTRACS leaders had given one demonstrator a gun with instructions to fire it into the air during a planned demonstration to provoke a violent police response. This worker, who was out of prison on parole, expressed to his family his uneasiness about his role in inciting violence. The family encouraged him to go to Panamanian authorities with this information. He did and offered the GOP a list of cell phone numbers of SUNTRACS leadership so that they could tap them and hear for themselves the plotting of the union,s leaders. -------------- -------------- Wiretapping criminals is maddening even for the President -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Torrijos said that he personally spent a day negotiating with Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez to gain authorization to tap these phones. Gomez, now in hot water with the Supreme Court for allegedly tapping phones without proper prior authorization, balked at Torrijos' request. Torrijos, undeterred, went to the Supreme Court, where he debated for another half day before getting permission to tap two phones. The Public Ministry then released the two phone numbers to SUNTRACS attorneys, as required by Panamanian law. Torrijos expressed his exasperation with his inability, as the nation's chief executive, to initiate these sorts of wiretaps when national security is at stake. He said he wanted to tap the phones of not just these 20 SUNTRACS leaders but any other SUNTRAC telephone number he could find. He said that he didn't want to waste time getting judicial approval for it either. He then quickly added that he, of course, would never tap phones for political ends. ¶8. (C) Torrijos said that these anecdotes show how the Public Ministry now "is a mess." He criticized the Attorney General for firing her most experienced prosecutors, leaving in their place a well-meaning but unprepared second or third string team. (We share Torrijos, concern). -------------- -- Torrijos committed to reform security apparatus -------------- -- ¶9. (C) Part of the solution, Torrijos, will be merging the Technical Judicial Police (PTJ) into the National Police (PNP). Although the Attorney General opposes this, Torrijos said he'd push this through the National Assembly before the end of December. "That will give us a year to make adjustments so that we can institutionalize these changes before I leave office," he said. He acknowledged that the Attorney General and others believe he is "trying to recreate a dictatorship," but added that he just needed a single and clear chain of command in the police. ¶10. (C) Torrijos said that he planned to announce shortly a change in National Police leadership. Although he praised the leadership of current Police Chief Rolando Mirones, he said that the uniformed police wanted and deserved to have one of their own lead their institution. He did not say when or by whom Mirones would be replaced. (Note: Rumors have long circulated of a fierce antipathy between Mirones and new MOGJ Minister DDD.) ¶11. (C) Torrijos said that he would also shortly break the frontier division out of the National Police and create a separate entity with the specialized training and equipment they need. "You can't expect someone to protect the frontier in the jungles of Darien one day and be a beat cop in Panama City the next." Torrijos anticipated that creation of this new entity would resuscitate allegations that he's trying to "remilitarize" Panama. -------------- Panama to establish a Coast Guard -------------- ¶12. (C) Torrijos reaffirmed his commitment to create a Coast Guard, merging the Maritime and Air Services. Acknowledging that this merger would create heartburn initially among members of both services, he proposed naming a Coast Guard chief who would then oversee the two separate services and gradually work towards full integration. Torrijos gave no indication of potential nominees or the timing of this merger. -------------- -------------- Uribe visit could lead to more border cooperation -------------- -------------- ¶13. (C) During Colombian President Uribe's brief visit to Panama to participate in the September 3, formal ceremony launching the canal expansion and commemorating the 30th anniversary of the canal treaty, Uribe crowed to Torrijos about the recent killing of FARC drug lord Tomas Medina aka &El Negro.8 Torrijos said that Uribe thought this was a significant accomplishment and the panic heard in subsequent FARC radio transmissions demonstrated its significance. Torrijos further reported that Uribe had felt compelled to accept Venezuelan President Chavez's offer of support in negotiating hostage releases from the FARC. However, Uribe said that he had carefully circumscribed the limits of Chavez's authority, and Chavez had accepted those limitations. Torrijos said that Uribe felt that Chavez, who some have charged with aiding FARC and being a destabilizing element in the region, was now on the hook to produce results. -------------- - Nicaragua not ripe for change yet; wait a year -------------- - ¶14. (C) Torrijos praised the quick and generous assistance the USG has provided Nicaraguans in the face of the devastation of Hurricane Felix. "It's not just the right thing to do for humanitarian purposes, but also for US political purposes." He said that Nicaraguan President Ortega and the Nicaraguan people understand and appreciate the value of this much-needed assistance. Torrijos said that we all have a stake in moderating Ortega's politics. "He still sees the world through the eyes of the 1980s," Torrijos said. "It will take him a year to understand the world has changed." Torrijos said that Panama can and should play a role in that conversion. That's why, he said, he participated in the anniversary celebration for the Sandinista revolution. "I had a role in that (revolution)," he added sheepishly. Torrijos said that the INCAE Director recently told him that his staff believed that Martin Torrijos was uniquely positioned to influence Ortega. "I want to do what I can," Torrijos said. He then announced, seemingly to Sam Lewis' surprise, that he planned to conclude a free trade agreement within 30 days with Nicaragua. "Ortega doesn't like free trade, but he can call this whatever he wants." He told Lewis that he planned to give in to the last Nicaraguan demand: free importation of Nicaraguan meat into Panama. Meat costs are rising in Panama, he said, and this will help lower our costs. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶15. (C) Torrijos seemed to pick up steam as he began talking, perhaps because he could finally talk about subjects he enjoyed rather than the current political crisis created by the election of accused assassin Pedro Miguel Gonzalez as the new President of the National Assembly. EATON