IS PANAMA RUN BY A MILITARY 'MAFIA'?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605300036-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 36
• Publication Date: July 7, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605300036-2
AK I IULL APrtAKtu 7 July 1986 v yy ..... v..l
nu n.nr ?/
Drug king? Spy? Not I, says General Noriega
Is run
by
a military M
af' ~
a"?
.
Panama tion for Barletta, the preceding cam-
^ While Ronald Reagan was busy win- paign was unusual in that los gringos
ning aid for Nicaraguan rebels from and American control of the canal were
Congress, alarms began ringing over not bitter issues. Panama's military
Panama and the canal that makes it a chiefs, including Noriega, appeared to
key strategic concern of the U.S. be withdrawing slowly from domina-
Together, the canal and U.S. military tion of politics and the economy.
bases here mean the American stake in Serious trouble began last September
Panama is greater than in all the rest of when Barletta was forced to resign. He
Central America combined. Indeed, apparently had pushed too hard for an
anxiety about canal security is part of investigation into the brutal murder of
the reason for U.S. concern about Dr. Hugo Spadafora, a colorful politi-
Marxist control of Nicaragua. Yet cal activist and persistent critic of Nor-
many things about Panama are turning iega's rule. Spadafora was last seen
sour at once. alive in the custody of troops from the
Panama's de facto ruler, military Panama Defense Force, as the nation's
strong man Gen. Manuel Noriega, is military, which Noriega commands, is
accused of drug trafficking and laun- officially called.
dering of drug money, arms smuggling Then came the recent series of re-
and spying for Cuba. These charges ports-clearly leaked by high-level
have followed those alleging more- Washington sources-about the gener-
common regional sins such as election al's alleged misdeeds. For many Ameri-
rigging and political intimi- cans
ll
hi
a
t
s rekindled
, dation. The country's fifth doubts about the kind of
more than a complaisant "' -U' 3 ipia,n, -s
p precisely the goal of conser-
front man for Noriega. Un- vativ
ff
i
l
e o
ic
a
s and lawmak
-
employment, inequality, ers who seek to advance
economic ct~nnoti.~..
d
an
ating what one U.S. di to ` ?'""'s %.uaiges that go
P
mat warns is a "time bomb back to the early 1970s. eral Noriega," adds Representative
Whatever their agenda, a Mike Lowry (D-Wash) wh
waitin to
o off"
M
g g
.,-
ose
er
. r m number of U.S. policymak- chant Marine subcommittee plans
In Washington, demands
ers are wor
i
d
b
r
e
a
out hand hihl l
-earngs on te canaater this sum-
are growing that Reagan ing canal operations over to mer. If narcotics charges against Pana-
"do something" about Pan-
a poverty-stricken, politi- manian military chiefs are proven, says
ama-especially about Senator Helms claims cally unstable nation. Skep- Lowry, "we'd be talking about with-
Noriega-though no one Noriega is corrupt tics fear that Panama's mil- holding dollars from one of our long-
seems certain exactly what. itary chiefs are mainly time friends. Congress is pretty serious
Behind the agitation is con- interested in operating a about drugs."
cern that popular resentment in Pana- Mafia-style racketeering network to en- Noriega seems unworried by the
ma could fuel the same kinds of leftist rich themselves and their friends. By headlines and hot words. In an inter-
upheaval that brought Fidel Castro to that assessment, the huge cash flow view with U.S.News & World Report, he
power in Cuba and the Sandinistas to generated by the canal might prove an brushed aside suggestions that the Rea-
power in Nicaragua. irresistible temptation without major gan administration may be turning
If prolonged, the furor could revive reform of Panama's endemic corrup- against him. "It doesn't suit President
the tensions that were supposed to dis- tion and cronyism.
appear under treaties transferring con- "We want to turn the canal over to a dently. "Panama a must plane ainaia dpositive
d
trol of the canal to Panama by the year viable, stable democracy, not a bunch partner, acting in favor nofAmerican
2000. For seven years, the transition of corrupt drug runners," fumes Jim interests and not in confrontations."
moved calmly. A respected pro-U.S. Lucier, a key aide to Senator Jesse The general dismisses critical reports in
economist, Nicolas Ardito Barletta, P Helms (R-N.C.). Helms has been a the U.S. press as the product of a con-
was elected President of Panama in leading critic of Noriega and the canal spiracy among "bad Panamanians" and
1984. Though there were strong suspi- treaties. "There's tremendous congres- "ultra-rightist forces" in Washington
cions that Noriega had stolen the elec- sional concern, particularly about Gen- who hope to overturn the treaties.
Continued
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605300036-2
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605300036-2
concern of the United
States, as the slow transi-
tion to full Panamanian
control of the canal contin-
ues. The treaties under
which the U.S. agreed to
give up most of its rights
were hotly argued and re-
main among the most con-
troversial acts of the Carter
administration.
However, Panamanian military
sources say that privately the general is
angry about the stories. Her orl'
is furious most of all about what he sees
as "betrayal" by the U U.S. Central Intel-
ligence Agency, with which he has had
close ties for many-years.
There are strong practical and politi-
cal reasons for Noriega's confidence.
Foreign diplomats and local analysts
believe that he eventually will be dam-
aged by the steadily mounting accusa-
tions. With time, he might have to step
aside-especially if a less controversial
replacement can be found-to maintain
U.S. aid that this year totals $31.2 mil-
lion. But for now there is no serious
threat to his authority.
Political opposition forces are badly
divided and poorly organized, lacking
ties to influential labor and student
groups. Panamanian citizens are highly
reluctant to take to the streets to force
change, as happened in Haiti and the
Philippines.
President almost certainly
would use force to thwart a
real threat under treaty
terms guaranteeing perma-
nent neutrality of the canal.
The official position in
Washington is to condemn
strongly the offenses Noriega
is accused of committing, es-
pecially drug running. But ad-
ministration spokesmen insist
that all reports they have so
far about his involvement-
although admittedly volumi-
nous-are "hearsay, circum-
stantial or speculative."
For obvious political rea-
sons, Washington does not
want to chastise authoritar-
ianism in Panama while por-
traying Nicaragua as the
only nondemocratic regime
in the region. Finally, there
is no official enthusiasm for
what many see as a no-win
contest with an opponent
who can hit back painfully.
Washington could easily halt U.S.
training of Panama's armed forces, for
example. But Noriega could just as eas-
ily end or reduce his country's role as
home of the biggest, most important
U.S. military outpost in all Latin
America. More than 9,000 American
troops are stationed in Panama, which
is headquarters for the Army's South-
ern Command. SouthCom's security
responsibilities stretch from Mexico's
southern border to the tip of Chile.
U.S. base rights in Panama run out at
the end of 1999, but they could be
extended if relations between the two
nations remain reasonably warm.
Administration strategy apparently
calls for waiting to see if the furor sub-
sides. It may. But even if the alarm
bells now ringing fall silent for a while,
they could ring again more loudly as
the year 2000 draws nearer. a
J by Carta Anne Robbins with JI
Washington bureau reports
THE 'BIG DITCH'
Politics aboil,
waters calm
Seven years into -the treaties of
transition for the Panama Ca-
nal, little has changed for the
30-odd ships that navigate the
strategic waterway every day.
It is still early in the gradual
process by which the U.S. is
turning the 70-year-old, 50-mile
canal over to Panama. By the
year 2000, the U.S. is commit-
ted to yield the last vestige of
administration. For now, transi-
tion and traffic run smoothly.
Through a binational Panama
Canal Commission, the two na-
tions share responsibility for
what once was called the "big
ditch" linking the oceans. Busi-
ness has rarely been better. An
oil pipeline parallel to the canal
has cut the traffic of tankers. But
expansion of world trade gener-
ally has meant an increase in
overall tonnage. In the past eight
months, some 124 million tons
of goods went through the locks
in 8,100 ships-an increase of
more than 10 percent over the
same period a year earlier. In
fiscal 1985, 68 percent of the
cargo moved either to or from
the U.S., including 13.4 percent
of all U.S. seaborne trade.
Already, more than 80 per-
cent of the 8,000 canal em-
ployes are Panamanian. Some
1,300 Americans still perform
key tasks, such as piloting ships
through locks so narrow that
minor errors in navigation can
result in major damage to ves-
sels or to the canal itself. In
time, Panamanians also will
take over most of those jobs.
The next stage comes in 1990.
when a Panamanian is to become
head of the commission. Dennis
McAuliffe, the American now in
charge, says he is confident Pan-
amanians can do the job. But
many experts worry that Pana-
ma's planning for the takeover is
lagging. They worry also that
historic Panamanian cronyism
will prevail, dumping trained
personnel in favor of political
friends, a fate that already has
befallen the country's ports and
railroad, which have been taken
A recent opposition rally
drew only a few hundred pro-
testers. This is partly because
of fear of repression. But there
is a more important deterrent:
The military-run regime pro-
vides one fourth of all jobs,
and government critics risk
losing their paychecks.
By most estimates, Wash-
ington will remain commit-
ted to the security of the 50-
mile-long "big ditch."
Primary U.S. responsibility
for canal security expires in
1999. But any American
ONE REASON THE CANAL
WORRIES SO MANY
The battleship U.S.S. New Jersey
passes through the Gatun Locks of
the Panama Canal, with a cruise ship
in the background. Quick passage for
Navy vessels between the Atlantic
and the Pacific, avoiding the long trip
around South America, is a principal
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605300036-2