Dear Panama E-Letter Subscribers:
Martinelli’s UN Speech – Sign That Free Trade Agreement Already!
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli gave a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York this past week. Martinelli discussed how Panama was a great country to invest in and that Latin American states need to embark on a process of integration. During his visit to New York, Martinelli also met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who would like to see the TPC trade agreement between Panama and the U.S. finalized. Martinelli was optimistic that the agreement would soon be signed; it was really a question of when the U.S. would be ready to sign. The agreement has met some resistance in the U.S. Congress because of Panama’s tax haven laws. Martinelli also agreed to crack down on drug trafficking in Panama and to help bring about a resolution to the crisis in Honduras.
 It Looked Like An Alien, Smelled Like An Alien, But It Was Really Just a Sloth
Its official: the alien found in Cerro Azul was just a sloth in the late stages of decomposition. The story about the animal attacking a group of teenagers was not true. The sloth was already dead when a group of teenagers came across it next to a stream in Cerro Azul.
Noriega’s trial drags on
This past week the French government announced that it would not grant General Manuel Noriega a pardon in his French money laundering case. French law states that a person can only be pardoned after they receive their final sentence. Noriega was convicted in absentia in France in 1999 but is now entitled to a new trial. So Noriega will have to sit through another trial before he can ask for a full pardon. But before Noriega can be extradited to France the U.S. Supreme Court must decide whether or not to hear his argument against being extradited to France. Noriega was set to be released in September of 2007.
There has been some speculation in Panama lately about whether or not the new President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, will ask the U.S. government to extradite Noriega to Panama. The Spadafora family, which has a great interest in the fate of Noriega because of his involvement in the murder of Hugo Spadafora, has asked the government of Panama to not send another extradition request to the U.S. government. They hope to see Noriega trialed in French courts.
Sell That Clunker
The Panamanian government has decided to sell the presidential plane. The Gulfstream II which was built in 1969 has a “For Sale” sign on it. The plane will be sold at a public auction. The plane was originally bought in 1995 for $7.3 million dollars. The new Panamanian President referred to the plane as a”clunker” and will not allow anyone to board it. Records show that the plane consumes 530 gallons of fuel per hour and costs $10,000 dollars per hour of flight time.
Last year one of the Panamanian government’s old San-100 helicopters crashed into downtown Panama City killing a number of people including the chief of Chilean security. There’s obviously a real need to improve the government’s planes and helicopters.
PRD Losing Political Party Regroups
The PRD Party is starting the process of picking new national leadership. The complete collapse of the party during the May elections was a real surprise to the party leadership who really thought they would win the presidency and national assembly without a hitch. But instead they lost everything; there is little doubt that the party needs to find a new direction, but the question is who can give the party a new, more modern image. Balbina Herrera who is the current president of the party feels that she can still lead the party to victory. She feels that what needs to change is not the leadership of the party but rather the message of the party. And Balbina feels she can still craft a message over the next five years that will appeal to the public. She probably feels that in the next election the PRD party’s odds of winning will be greater. She would like to hold onto her position as president of the party just as Martin Torrijos held the position of president of the PRD after he lost to Mireya Moscoso in presidential election of 1999.
Balbina’s strongest opponent within the PRD party is former Panama City Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro who wants to be the new modern leader of the PRD party. Navarro ran as vice-president on the PRD ticket during the May elections but never hid his distaste for presidential candidate Balbina Herrera. Look for a strong push and pull between Balbina and Navarro for leadership of the party; the winner will control the party for at least the next 9 years.
Written By Matt Atlee
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