US embassy cable - 05PANAMA2263

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PANAMA 002263 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN AND INL/LP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, PINS, PM, LEGATT 
SUBJECT: FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER,S VISIT TO PANAMA:  FOCUS ON 
BILATERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ANTI-CORRUPTION COOPERATION 
 
REF: PANAMA 2232 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  FBI Director Robert Mueller visited 
Panama October 27 ) 28 as part of his five day, five nation 
visit to Latin America.  During his brief stay he met with 
President Martin Torrijos and senior GOP national security 
officials, Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez and her senior 
staff, Technical Judicial Police Director Jaime Jacome, and 
representatives of civil society organizations engaged in 
anti-corruption and judicial reform efforts.  Director 
Mueller also spoke with the press, and his visit received 
widespread and positive coverage.  The Director,s visit 
provided encouragement to USG allies in the fights against 
transnational crime and corruption and helped to counter the 
charge that the USG is trying to &re-militarize8 Panama. 
All agreed that law enforcement cooperation between the U.S. 
and Panama was excellent, and that both countries would look 
for opportunities to expand this relationship.  End Summary 
 
Breakfast with President Torrijos 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Director Mueller, Charge, and Legatt met over 
breakfast with President Martin Torrijos, Vice 
President/Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis Navarro, Minister of 
Government and Justice Hector Aleman, and National Security 
Council Executive Secretary Leonel Solis.  During their 
wide-ranging discussion, President Torrijos highlighted his 
efforts to increase governmental transparency and efficiency. 
 Torrijos and VP Lewis noted that Panama enjoys relative 
security compared to its neighbors, with Lewis boasting that 
he often travels around the country without a security 
detail. 
 
3.  (SBU) Director Mueller asked President Torrijos about the 
relative problems of private and public sector corruption. 
Torrijos acknowledged that private sector corruption was a 
problem, noting that private companies were known to offer 
bribes to legislators to pass bills favorable to their 
interest.  The President reiterated his personal commitment 
to fighting corruption and changing Panama,s culture of 
impunity.  Towards this end, Torrijos said he would be 
following up on justice reform proposals in the coming 
months.   For his part, Director Mueller noted that the FBI's 
top priority, after fighting terrorism, is investigating 
public corruption. 
 
4.  (SBU) Torrijos noted that his government was working to 
enhance security cooperation with the United States through 
the Panama Secure Trade and Transportation Initiative 
(PST&TI).  He explained that this was a recognition of 
Panama,s responsibility as a global and maritime hub. 
Panama,s role in international trade, and the security 
responsibilities related to this, would only increase with 
the hoped-for expansion of the Panama Canal. 
 
5.  (SBU) Torrijos discussed the challenges posed by local 
groups, notably left-wing labor unions, who opposed his 
reform efforts because of their own political agendas. 
Torrijos and Mueller discussed the need to reform and 
modernize security agencies, including intelligence services, 
to address these threats. 
 
Meeting with Attorney General 
----------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) As the centerpiece of his visit, Director Mueller 
met with Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez, Public Ministry 
Secretary General Rigoberto Gonzalez, and Anti-Corruption 
 
SIPDIS 
Prosecutor Mercedes De Leon.  The Director thanked the 
Attorney General for the outstanding cooperation that Panama 
provides to U.S. law enforcement agencies and praised her 
courageous efforts to fight public corruption.  The Attorney 
General expressed appreciation for the visit, noting that 
Mueller was the first FBI Director to travel to Panama. 
Gomez also praised the proactive role that the Legal 
Attache,s office has played in Panama.  Director Mueller 
reiterated the standing invitation to the Attorney General to 
visit Washington, which she said she would do in early 2006. 
 
7.  (SBU) The Attorney General explained that her focus since 
taking office had been to revitalize the professionalism and 
ethical conduct of Public Ministry staff.   In simple terms, 
she said that her Ministry couldn,t be effective in fighting 
crime if it was riddled with internal problems.  The AG noted 
that she had created an Office of Professional Responsibility 
and Human Rights to act as an ombudsman.  Mueller applauded 
this and noted the importance of protecting civil liberties 
while being effective in fighting crime. 
 
8. (SBU) Gomez told the Director that her priorities were 
fighting corruption, investigating financial crimes, and 
stopping trafficking in persons.  To do this, she needed 
qualified and trained prosecutors. Gomez said that these 
prosecutors must be familiar with modern investigative 
methods in order to evaluate the work of detectives and 
properly present cases.  Speaking frankly, she complained 
that the investigative police (PTJ) did not function, as they 
should. 
 
9.  (SBU) Director Mueller said that the FBI had experience 
training prosecutors in investigative techniques and offered 
to share this with Panama.  The Director said that his staff 
would look into the possibilities and report back to the AG. 
Mueller agreed that it was important for prosecutors to have 
a solid understanding of the investigative process. 
 
10.  (SBU) Gomez noted that the &system had collapsed8 in 
the Drug Prosecutors Office and she wanted to rebuild this 
institution.  She made a special request for training for 
recently appointed narcotics prosecutor Jose Almengor. The 
Attorney General noted that the head of the PTJ,s anti 
narcotics unit had recently been arrested, and while glad 
that he had been caught, this incident demonstrated that 
traffickers had been successful in infiltrating the 
investigative group, making the oversight from the 
prosecutor,s office all the more important. 
 
11.  (SBU) The Attorney General explained that Panama was 
also considering major judicial reforms, including the move 
towards an accusatory system (reftel).  She said Panama,s 
system was currently mixed inquisitorial and accusatory. 
Gomez assured the Director that she was committed to seeing 
reform take place during the course of her ten year term of 
office. 
 
12.  (SBU) The AG also asked for help in professionalizing 
Panama,s Institute of Legal Medicine.  Gomez said she is 
trying to reengineer this institution, which has the primary 
responsibility for forensics.   The Director suggested that 
the AG and her staff look at the example of the Miami Dade 
County Medical Examiners Office and the Police Homicide Unit, 
both of which have excellent reputations for best practices. 
He suggested that the AG visit Miami en route to Washington 
when she travels to the U.S.  He also said that the FBI would 
be happy to show the AG its facilities in Washington and 
Quantico.  The AG said Panama was working to develop both DNA 
and fingerprint databases.  The Director said that this was 
also an area where the FBI had expertise which it could 
share. 
 
13.  (SBU) Turning to anti-corruption, the AG and 
anti-corruption prosecutor noted that corrupt practices in 
Panama,s immigration and customs agencies had left the 
country vulnerable to exploitation by criminals and 
terrorists.  The Director cautioned about possible increases 
in illegal Brazilian migration through Panama as Mexico 
imposed visa requirements on Brazilian nationals. 
 
14.  (SBU) Mueller emphasized the importance of fast exchange 
of information to combat terrorism.  He stressed the 
importance of close working relationships between law 
enforcement officials.   The AG agreed, and said that she 
wanted to ensure the quality of information that Panama 
shared with its partners.  She also stressed the importance 
of cooperation across borders.  For example, Panama is 
cooperating with Nicaragua in the prosecution of former 
President Arnoldo Aleman.  One of the barriers had been the 
difficulties in exchanging information on these type of high 
profile cases. 
 
15.  (SBU) Mueller noted that with globalization, crime 
increasingly crossed borders and our challenge was to 
overcome these borders.  That is why Mueller travels and why 
the FBI has Legatt offices.  Mueller explained that his visit 
had been planned before the President,s travel to the 
region, and that the two were unrelated.  The AG thanked 
Mueller for visiting and said that this presence was a great 
help to her. 
 
Joint Press Conference 
---------------------- 
 
16.  (U) In their joint press conference both the Attorney 
General and Director Mueller praised the bilateral 
cooperation.   Mueller highlighted President Torrijos and the 
Attorney General,s commitment to fighting public corruption. 
 These comments received widespread and favorable media 
coverage.   The AG also took advantage of the press 
conference to argue for additional resources to 
professionalize Panama,s law enforcement and investigative 
agencies. 
 
Meeting with PTJ Director Jacome 
-------------------------------- 
 
17.  (SBU)  Director Mueller met with PTJ Director Jaime 
Jacome and members of his senior staff.    Jacome noted with 
pride that he was a graduate of the FBI LALEEDs, program. 
He lauded the excellent relationship between the PTJ and the 
Legatt and DEA offices in Panama.   Jacome described efforts 
that the PTJ had undertaken to respond to US requests for 
assistance, including regarding fugitives and drug cases. 
Noting that he faced serious institutional shortcomings, 
Jacome requested additional training and assistance from the 
FBI. 
 
18.  (SBU) Jacome thanked the Director for the FBI National 
Academy retrainer program that had recently concluded in 
Panama.   It had been a great success, and Panama regretted 
that Mueller had not been able to attend.  Mueller thanked 
Jacome for the assistance that the PTJ provided to the FBI, 
including organizing the retrainer event.    The Director 
also had the opportunity to meet with several PTJ National 
Academy graduates. 
 
Director Mueller on the Record with Civil Society 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
19.  (U) At a lunch hosted by Charge, Director Mueller met 
with representatives of Panamanian government institutions 
and civil society engaged in good governance and judicial 
reform programs.   Several participants were members of the 
anti-corruption council and the state commission on judicial 
reform, which submitted its recommendations to President 
Torrijos in September (reftel).  Mueller underscored U.S. 
efforts to assist countries in the fight against internal 
political corruption, and emphasized the need for Panama to 
establish transparent, independent law enforcement bodies 
with checks and balances in the overall law enforcement 
system. 
 
20.  (U) Director Mueller, providing an assessment of the 
structural challenges of Panama,s law enforcement system, 
highlighted what he believed to be Panama,s most significant 
challenges:  that Panama does not have an independent 
judiciary; that Panama does not have an independent police 
and prosecutorial force; and the impact of narco-trafficking 
on Panama.  He also said inter-agency cooperation was a 
challenge to maintain, but a great asset.  To this the AG 
commented that she was interested in constructing better 
local law enforcement cooperation in Panama. 
 
21.  (U) To &La Prensa8 president Fernando Berguido,s 
question about how high political corruption was in the 
priorities of U.S. foreign policy, Mueller responded that 
political corruption was a "very high" USG priority.  He 
noted the resources the USG puts into helping other countries 
address corruption every year.  He continued, saying it was a 
"huge issue" for U.S. international relations, mentioning DOS 
anti-corruption efforts and citing Mexico as an example of a 
country that has received numerous USG resources to fight 
corruption.  Mueller then said that diplomacy,s difficult 
task was in knowing how to address the corruption specific to 
the affected institution or culture.  He said that in 
Panama,s case, the judiciary was the most critical area to 
address, though the process of change would be long. 
 
22.  (U) Berguido agreed with Director Mueller, saying that 
corruption in Panama,s judiciary, particularly in the 
Supreme Court, created a credibility problem for both the 
judiciary and the political process in the eyes of both the 
media and the public.  According to Berguido, the press was 
most concerned with the court's credibility at points in the 
legal process beyond the prosecutorial stage.  He called this 
credibility problem Panama,s biggest political task. 
Berguido added that in the past year he had seen a positive 
change with the new AG, who was much more active in fighting 
corruption than the previous AG, Antonio Sossa.  He also said 
that Panama,s judicial independence has improved but that 
Panama was still far from having an independent judiciary 
free of political influence. 
 
23.  (U) Offering words of encouragement, Director Mueller 
said that fighting political corruption in the U.S. was one 
of the FBI,s priorities.  He added that keeping up with 
technology was key to maintaining effectiveness in combating 
narco-trafficking and other crime.  Panama,s low level of 
violence also impressed Director Mueller. 
24. (U) As a final note, the Director emphasized the 
importance of a system with checks and balances and with 
transparency in the decision-making process.  He added that 
Panama,s commitment, at the top levels of government, to 
addressing corruption served as an example for other 
countries to follow. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
25. (SBU) Director Mueller,s visit to Panama provided a shot 
in the arm to both President Torrijos and Attorney General 
Gomez and helped frame anti-corruption and law enforcement 
issues prior to President Bush,s visit to Panama.  His visit 
also helped to emphasize the broad nature of our security 
relationship with Panama and helped to counter the public 
mis-impression that our goal is to &re-militarize8 Panama. 
 The Embassy Law Enforcement and Security Working Group will 
consult with Panamanian counterparts on follow-up to the 
Director,s visit. 
EATON