FECHA: 0000-00-00 00:00:00
FUENTE: Embassy Panama
PRIVACIDAD: CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
REFERENCIA: VZCZCXYZ0001 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHZP #0523/01 1812112 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 302112Z JUN 09 FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3542 INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2820 RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 2027 RHMFISS/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/DIRJIATF SOUTH
C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000523
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2019
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SNAR, PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: EARLY INDICATIONS ON SECURITY POLICY OF
NEW GOVERNMENT
REF: PANAMA 00725/08
Classified By: Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)
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Summary
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1. (C) The incoming government of Panama will not/not
dismantle the National Frontier Service (SENAFRONT) or the
National Aero-Naval Service (SENAN), two of the key security
services created by the reforms of the outgoing government of
Martin Torrijos (see reftel). This is one of Post's key
conclusions following a series of meetings between the
Ambassador and President-elect Ricardo Martinelli, Vice
President-elect and Foreign Minister-designate Juan Carlos
Varela, and Minister of Government and Justice-elect Jose
Raul Mulino. The new government also strongly supports the
continuation of Panamax, and is broadly supportive of the
Embassy's strategy for the Darien, as laid out in our
recently approved 1207 proposal. There also seems to be a
strong interest in greater cooperation with Colombia to deal
with the FARC presence in the Darien. Varela has indicated
concerns about how our Sensitive Investigative Units (SIU)
function, but Post is working to allay his concerns. End
Summary.
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Cosmetic Changes to Security Reforms
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2. (C) "We are not going to dismantle SENAFRONT," Varela
told the Ambassador June 17. He said that while there might
be some superficial changes, neither SENAFRONT nor SENAN
would be dismantled, and that the incoming government was
unlikely to remove SENAFRONT Director Frank Abrego or SENAN
Director Rigoberto Gordon. (Comment: Both of these men have
been very successful at raising the operational effectiveness
of their units, and enjoy good relations with the Embassy.
End Comment.) Varela said there might be cosmetic changes,
including changes in name and uniform. Incoming Panamanian
National Police (PNP) Director Gustavo Perez told PolOff May
7 that SENAFRONT would be folded back into the PNP, as it had
been before the reforms, but would retain functional
independence.
3. (C) Varela extended no such assurances about the
National Intelligence and Security Service (SENIS), which was
also created in the same reform process. Democratic Change
(CD) security advisor Jaime Abad told PolOff on March 23 that
Martinelli deeply distrusted the SENIS, and wanted to
dismantle it. However, Varela indicated that the government
would wait until they had had a chance to fully analyze how
the SENIS was functioning before making any decisions.
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I Love Panamax
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4. (C) "I love Panamax," President-elect Martinelli told
the Ambassador June 18, after the Ambassador explained the
multi-national naval exercise and the Panamanian national
security planning exercise that takes place at the same time,
Panamax Alpha. Garuz was given a detailed briefing on Panamax
during the Final Planning Conference in Panama June 2, to
help familiarize the incoming government with the major
exercise. Garuz said he was pleased with the briefing, and
looked forward to the exercise.
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Shared Vision on the Darien
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5. (C) Varela said he was "totally on the same page" with
Post's Darien strategy in his June 17 meeting with the
Ambassador. He said he wanted to pursue a law-enforcement
approach to the Darien, and welcomed the Embassy's focus on
intelligence, combined counter-narcotics operations, and a
progressively stronger SENAFRONT presence establishing
control of population centers as the best way forward. Varela
also told the Ambassador that he was very interested in the
governance aspects of the Darien strategy and wished to
discuss them further. Martinelli told the Ambassador that the
FARC posed a clear danger in the Darien, and needed to be
dealt with, though he did not have any concrete plans for
moving forward, beyond a vague plan for a "land operation."
6. (C) Minister of Government and Justice-designate Jose
Raul Mulino told the Ambassador on June 23 that he, Varela
and Martinelli had discussed increased cooperation against
the FARC on the Colombian border with President Uribe at a
recent meeting. He said they discussed: 1) increasing the
security presence on both sides of the border; 2) increasing
cooperation on migration issues, so the Panamanian
authorities would know in advance who was entering Panama
from Colombia via air; and 3) creating an information
operation for the FARC in the Darien that would encourage
them to de-mobilize, and then send them to Colombia for
insertion in their program. Mulino said that "we will do what
we have to do" to capture the leaders of the FARC in Panama,
and limit their ability to operate. He said that there was
pressure to take decisive action, as there was a danger that
Colombia would launch a unilateral cross-border operation,
which he said would be a disaster for Panama.
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Wither SIUs?
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7. (C) Varela told the Ambassador that he was concerned
about the existence of police units in Panama that responded
to USG agencies and not the host government. He said he
believed such units "allowed drug shipments to get through"
in order to capture cartel leaders, at the expense of
Panamanian security. The Embassy organized a security
briefing for leaders of the incoming government on June 23 to
overcome concerns such as this, and to present the USG
security strategy in Panama (septel).
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Comment
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6. (C) Post believes that the incoming Martinelli
government will not/not dismantle SENAFRONT or SENAN. The
Ambassador and EmbOffs have been stressing the importance of
these organizations since before the May 3 election, and the
message seems to have been received. Together with the strong
indications that Abrego and Gordon will remain in place at
least for the immediate future, this puts our continuing
security cooperation on sound footing. We also welcome
Martinelli's strong commitment to Panamax, and anticipate no
problems maintaining this important exercise throughout his
presidency. The strong support for improved governance and
law-enforcement in the Darien voiced by Varela and Mulino
bode well for Post's Darien strategy, which is on track to be
funded with the recently approved 1207 funds. While Varela's
concerns about USG direct support to PNP units, referring to
Post's Sensitive Investigative Units (SIUs), on which much of
our successful counter-narcotics work is based, is troubling,
we believe that he can be reassured on this account. Post
will report septel on our efforts to reassure him on this
score.
STEPHENSON
