Noriega Is Back In Panama
Panama's Government Minister Roxana Mendez said the former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, who arrived on Sunday, 11 December from incarceration in France, now that he has returned to home soil, will have to abide with the regulations of the country's prison system. This includes his individual cell, the provision of food, and visits on weekends, she said. Mendez said Noriega will not receive any special treatment nor will he be handled like a "luxury prisoner" but rather as a common inmate.
When speaking about Noriega's return to Panama yesterday, Mendez said the first priority was to ensure Noriega's safe return. And now the mission is to keep him healthy and safe in the El Renacer prison. This is being done not only to ensure Noriega serves the sentences that have already been handed down against him, but also so that he can face the other charges and cases that are pending, she said. Yesterday Noriega was returned home after 22 years of absence, which began after the U.S. invasion of Panama in December 1989.
There had been a lot of debate in recent weeks about Noriega being allowed to ‘serve his time’ in house arrest, which is allowed for in Panama’s laws for prisoners over 70. Needless to say there was a lot of disagreement floating around about that possibility. Last week President Martinelli spoke out and said basically, ‘that ain’t gonna’ happen.’ End of debate.
There was also a lot of concern in the days leading up to the release that there would be massive demonstrations in the streets, similar to those that occurred in the later parts of Noriega’s reign. Those did not materialize. One pundit described Sunday’s general feeling as “people seemed more interested in doing their Christmas shopping”. I think the general apathy is partly an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ thing. I mean, the guys been gone for 22 years. In addition to that, citizens younger than about 32 years old (a large part of the population) don’t even remember the Noriega dictatorship years.
The Good News
Don Winter (Panama Guide) observation on Noriega’s return: “And now with the incarceration of the former military dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega in the El Renacer prison, located literally on the "banks of the Panama Canal", you can be sure he will become a new attraction mentioned during every passage (click on photo).. …… I can hear it now. Dozens of cruise ships carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers make their way through the Panama Canal every year. Aboard those vessels are local area experts who - aided by microphones - explain to the passengers what they are seeing as the ships slowly make their way through the canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa …. You can also get a close up view of the El Renacer prison if you hop on the train from Panama City to Colon - the train tracks run right behind the prison, spitting distance away from Noriega… .Former military dictator, drug trafficker, money launderer, murderer, and now tourist attraction.
Hey, at least he's giving something back, right? Peanuts, get ch'ur peanuts...”
Panama Economy Still Growing. Despite what is happening globally, the Panamanian Minister of Economy and Finance projects that during 2012 the Panamanian economy will grow by more than 7.5 He was confident Panama is the country with the highest rate of economic growth in all of Latin America.
How can he make such a rosy prediction? Well, because Panama’s economy has marched right through the world-wide economic crises of the lasy few years with hardly a hitch. Particularly when you look at the numbers for other countries for comparison, Panama’s economic performance is amazing. The country’s GDP growth figures are:
•2008 - 10.12%
•2009 - 3.2% (global recession, Panama grew anyway)
•2010 - 7.45%
•2011 - 9.6%
•2012 - 7.5% (projected)
Proud To Be An American. I have written before of the great work being done in Panama by the young Americans deployed down here with the Peace Corps. There is a sizeable Corp contingent here, spread throughout the country and many are living in pretty primitive conditions.
Don Ray Williams latest blog posting (Chiriqui Chatter) includes a report by Courtney, a young volunteer that he has been working with. She details some of the things they are doing including her work in organizing a Girl Scout troop. Take a minute and read her letter and I guarantee you will get that warm glow just from seeing what these young folks are doing here.
Christmas Greetings
Be careful what you wish for. The wife insisted the guy HAD to hang the christmas lights before he went to the ballgame with his buddies. So.... (click to enlarge)
And Now, The Bad News
Drugs: Here in Chiriquí Provence right outside David, narcotics agents of the National Police seized 182 kilos of cocaine, as part of "Operation Relámpago" (Lightning). In the operation they arrested the driver of an 18 wheeler after the drugs were discovered hidden in suitcases.
David sits right on the Inter-American highway, the only highway that transits the country. And as I mentioned in a previous posting, countries that become ‘drug transiting’ avenues for gangs to move drugs from South America to the U.S., develop crime and violence problems. A disturbing trend for those of us enjoying and peace and tranquility of this part of the country.
Violence: Some of worst situation of violence and insecurity in the world is in the countries that form the so-called Northern Central American Triangle (Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala). As I mentioned in a previous posting, these countries murder rate (murder per 100,000 people) is higher than the highly publicized Mexican rate. (77.5 in Honduras, 64.8 in El Salvador, and 41.5 in Guatemala)
Well, guess what? A statistical study made by the newspaper El Siglo reveals that in Panama there is a district with similar levels of violence. In San Miguelito, 134 murders were committed between January and November of this year, and projections indicates the district should end 2011 with 146 murders. Based on San Miguelito’s 315,019 inhabitants, the homicide rate for the year would be 46.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. And the district of Panama City is right behind it with a projected homicide rate for 2011 of 36 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
My point? I often have to explain to visiting tourist that ‘we ain’t in Kansas anymore, Dorothy’. This part of the world often is not the place to jump off a plane, go grab your Hertz rental and go touring about. I’ll ask, “Do you know where the areas of Panama City are that taxi drivers won’t even drive through, even in daylight hours?” Or, “Can you even imagine what you will go through if you have even a minor traffic accident? Especially if everyone, including the police know that you do want to leave here in a few days and return to the U.S.”
Earthquakes: An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit Panama in the early morning hours of Tuesday, 13 December 2011. The epicenter was out in the Pacific about 250 miles south of David, so I doubt if most people here in David even knew about it. However, that is the fourth tremor in the last six weeks. Serves a reminder that we are in a fault area and that there is on-going seismic activity.
Politics Panama Style
To say that politics in Panama is rough-and-tumble would be a huge understatement. Think more like: No holds barred, stick a finger in your eye, kick you in the balls, discredit your deceased father, release a tape recording purportedly of you propositioning a nun, and then enlisting two of your cousins to swear to the veracity of it all while alluding to the possibility that all of this mud is just the tip of the iceberg. Even after living here for 4+ years, I am still amazed with what goes on.
And now it seems to be ramping up. With elections on the horizon about two years from now, there is a lot of ‘positioning’ going on. Last week, President Martinelli (who is the ultimate wheeler-dealer) announced that he is going to start broadcasting weekly speeches in an effort to keep the population informed. Obviously ‘population’ in this case means ‘electorate’.
A leader of the opposition party, the PRD, immediately responded by saying the program will be a waste of resources. Even better (or worse), The president of the opposition said Martinelli increasingly approaches the model of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has his program called "Alo Presidente." Ouch!
As you might imagine, President Martinelli defended the initiative saying it "has nothing to do with Chavez, for God's sake, there's none of that!" Then in a ‘back at ya’ move, Martinelli added that his weekly addresses would be on all national radio and television networks AND would be mandatory for all media.
The Secretary of State Communications for the president, added later that the program Ricardo program - which is still under development - will start in January 2012 with duration of five minutes, once a week. This information pretty much diffuses the comparison to Hugo Chavez sits and rants on non-stop for hours during his addresses to the Venezuelan people.
My Book – ‘Angels in Panama’
My book is still available at a reasonable priced paperback from the publisher.
The book is also now (finally!) available in e-book form as well from both Amazon (for the Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (the Nook).
The links below are for the various formats of my book. I have also included a link to my website where you can read excerpts of ‘Angels in Panama’ if you want.
Paperback from Publisher $9.95
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
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