PANAMA: FARC REPORTEDLY LOOTS STORES IN THE DARIEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000650 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PBTS PM CO SUBJECT: PANAMA: FARC REPORTEDLY LOOTS STORES IN THE DARIEN Classified By: PolCouns Brian Naranjo for Reasons 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) The Panamanian media reported August 3 that 60 armed men had entered the village of BajoChiquito (est. 200 population) in the Darien Province and looted a store. They reported that local residents of the region, which is in the Embera-Wounaan Area Number 1, reported that there had been several similar actions in the area over the last several days. The newspapers reported speculation that the men were members of the FARC's 57th Front, and increased fear in the region, as a result of the reported threats by the group to return to the area again in the future. Official reaction has been muted and limited to noting that the Panamanian National Police (PNP) had sent reinforcements into the area. Commissioner Frank Abrego, head of the PNP's Frontier Unit was in the area investigating. All public GOP commentary on this incursion has refrained from mentinoing the term "FARC," opting instead for the generic "criminal elements." The papers reported up to 200 PNP men may have been sent to reinforce units in the region. Comment: BajoChiquito is over 25 miles inside Panama. ¶2. Post will report on any further developments. STEPHENSON =======================CABLE ENDS============================