US embassy cable - 04PANAMA2583

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PANAMA 002583 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR WHA/CEN 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SNAR, PM, POL CHIEF 
SUBJECT: DAS FISK TOURS PANAMA'S REMOTE DARIEN BORDER REGION 
 
SUMMARY 
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1.  (SBU) WHA DAS Dan Fisk and Ambassador Watt, with POL 
Counselor and NAS Director, visited three locales in Panama's 
rugged and remote Darien province October 6, including the 
provincial capital, La Palma.  They spent the day viewing 
Panamanian National Police (PNP) border installations, 
greeting Darien's newly named governor, inspecting USAID 
projects, and meeting with local representatives.  Newly 
appointed PNP Director Gustavo Perez, who assumed office on 
September 1, accompanied the Ambassador and DAS Fisk.  The 
trip provided Perez with his first opportunity to inspect PNP 
bases at all three stops and talk with his officers in the 
field.  NAS Director briefed Perez on NAS assistance projects 
in the Darien.  The visit confirmed earlier impressions that 
the PNP has enhanced its presence in the Darien in recent 
years but it will need additional resources to firmly 
establish government control in the province.  End Summary. 
 
 
Puerto Obaldia 
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2.  (SBU) The Embassy's chartered plane touched down first in 
Puerto Obaldia, a Caribbean coast settlement of 500 
inhabitants about an hour by air from Panama City.  The town 
is very close to the border and is separated from Colombia by 
a high ridge.  DAS Fisk and the Ambassador accepted PNP 
Director Perez's offer to fly them to the border about a mile 
away at La Miel in his helicopter, which shadowed the 
chartered plane's movements during the day.  After inspecting 
a gun emplacement on the shore, the party visited a PNP 
barracks and command center.  Also, two armed PNP go-fast 
patrol boats were anchored in the harbor.  The Department's 
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs 
(INL) has donated two other patrol boats to the PNP, one of 
which was in La Palma when the group arrived. 
 
 
Some Geography 
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3.  (SBU) The northern Darien border region (on Panama's 
Atlantic Coast) is extremely rugged, covered with thick 
rainforest, and is the source of the north-to-south-flowing 
rivers that crisscross the province.  The province is dotted 
with many abandoned dirt airstrips, some of them 
WWII-vintage.  Taken together, the difficult, practically 
vacant terrain and shoreline (the province's population is 
50,000), forest cover, airstrips, and meandering rivers make 
it an ideal habitat for guerrillas, narcotraffickers, and 
people smugglers. 
 
 
La Palma 
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4.  (SBU) Next stop was La Palma, the provincial capital, 
situated on the broad, scenic Tuira River estuary.  Newly 
named provincial governor Juana Lopez and the Alcalde (mayor) 
came to greet the Ambassador and DAS Fisk at the airstrip. 
The party moved to the municipal offices where a roomful of 
local citizens were waiting.  After the Ambassador gave an 
impromptu speech, many of the citizens presented petitions 
for local projects they wanted the Embassy to consider 
funding.  The Ambassador thanked the group for their 
confidence in the United States but suggested that they bring 
their needs to the attention of Panamanian government 
representatives in the first instance.  Ambassador and DAS 
Fisk also toured PNP installations. 
 
 
Sambu 
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5.  (SBU) In Sambu (also called Boca de Sabalo), the 
Ambassador and DAS Fisk inspected USAID projects designed to 
help local citizens (both indigenous Embera and 
Afro-Panamanians) build community centers to host tourists. 
 
 
Comment 
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6.  (SBU) Throughout the visit, 10-20 armed PNP personnel 
provided security, whether by helicopter or patrol boat. 
Their presence underscored the continuing reality that, in 
many areas of the Darien, the PNP is the Panamanian 
government's only presence. 
 
 
MCMULLEN