The United States’ long history of intervening in the internal affairs of Central American countries, for the sake of US interests, is darkly exemplified in Panama. No other nation in the region owes its independence to the US quite like Panama, which was part of Columbia until President Teddy Roosevelt decided, just after the turn of the 20th century, that an independent Panama was good for American shipping interests. Desiring a shortcut to avoid the tremendously long voyage around South America, the US sought a location to build a canal in Central America whereby ships could sail across and dramatically reduce the time it took to get from one American coast to another.

 

The Panamanian Isthmus, part of northern Columbia, was a perfect spot for a canal, only officials in Columbia wouldn’t go along with the US plans. So officials in Washington fully supported a military coup by Panamanian leaders and backed up the effort with the US Navy. Once Panama was free of Columbia, Washington had little difficultly persuading Panamanian leaders to hand over large swaths of land for the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin building the largest shipping canal ever conceived on earth. Once completed in 1914, the canal and its surrounding zone were fully controlled by the US, which maintained military forces in the country to secure its investment. This continued until the 1970s, when the Carter administration agreed to cede control of the canal back to Panama, much to the consternation of many lawmakers in Congress.

 

Lay of the Land: A land bridge between Central and South America, Panama is a long, narrow country oriented roughly west to east and situated between Costa Rica and Colombia. Tropical lowlands along its two coasts are separated by a range of mountains. The country itself is divided completely in two by the Panama Canal and the Panama Canal Zone.

Population: 3.3 million

Religions: Christian (predominantly Catholic) 87.2%, Muslim 4.4%, Baha'i 1.3%, Ethnoreligious 1.1%, Buddhist 0.8%, Spiritist 0.5%, Hindu 0.3%, Jewish 0.1%, Chinese Universalist 0.1%, non-religious 3.1%.

Ethnic Groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white ) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6%.

Languages: Spanish 70.0%, Panamanian Creole English 8.9%, Ngäbere 4.3%, Kuna (Border, San Blas) 1.9%, Emberá (Northern, Catío) 0.5%, Chinese (Hakka, Yue) 0.2%. There are 14 living languages in Panama.

The first European explorers to visit Panama were Columbus (in 1502) and Balboa (in 1513). It eventually became a principal shipping point to and from South and Central America during colonial times.

 

In 1821, when Central America revolted against Spain, Panama joined Colombia, which had already declared its independence. For the next 82 years, Panama attempted unsuccessfully to break away from Colombia. Between 1850 and 1900, Panama had 40 administrations, 50 riots, five attempted secessions, and 13 US interventions. After a US proposal for canal rights over the narrow isthmus was rejected by Colombia, Panama proclaimed its independence with US backing in 1903.

 

For canal rights in perpetuity, the US paid Panama $10 million and agreed to pay $250,000 each year, which was increased to $430,000 in 1933 and to $1.93 million in 1955. In exchange, the US got the Canal Zone (a 10-mile-wide strip across the isthmus) and considerable influence in Panama’s affairs. In September 1977, Panamanian leader Torrijos Herrera and President Jimmy Carter signed treaties giving Panama gradual control of the canal, phasing out US military bases, and guaranteeing the canal’s neutrality.

 

Officially, Nicolas Ardito Barletta became Panama’s first directly elected president in 16 years, on October 11, 1984. But in reality, the true leader of Panama was General Manuel Noriega, a former CIA operative and head of Panama’s secret police. As an indication of his power, Noriega was able to replace Barletta with vice president Eric Arturo Delvalle in 1985. Barletta had become a political liability after the murder of Hugo Spadafora, a well known political critic. Barletta addressed the issue of the murder and stated that justice would be served. Because it had been speculated that Noriega was involved with the murder, Barletta’s public address was detrimental to Noriega, and he immediately demanded that Barletta come back from his New York trip and resign.

 

In 1988, Noriega was indicted in the US for drug trafficking, but when Delvalle attempted to fire him, Noriega forced the national assembly to replace Delvalle with Manuel Solis Palma. In December 1989, the assembly named Noriega “maximum leader” and declared the US and Panama to be in a state of war. That same month, 24,000 US troops seized control of Panama City in an attempt to capture Noriega after a US soldier was killed in Panama.

 

On January 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered to US officials custody and was transported to Miami, where he was later convicted of drug trafficking. Guillermo Endara, who probably would have won an election suppressed earlier by Noriega, was installed as president.

 

On December 31, 1999, the US formally handed over control of the Panama Canal to Panama. Meanwhile, Colombian rebels and paramilitary forces have made periodic incursions into Panamanian territory, raising security concerns. Panama has also faced increased drug and arms smuggling.

 

Panamanians approved a plan to expand the Panama Canal in 2006. It will likely double the canal’s capacity and is expected to be completed in 2014-2015.

 

In June of 2009, Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal, a member of the Cambio Democrático (Democratic Change Party) was elected to office as the President of Panama. Martinelli is the owner of Super 99, Panama’s largest supermarket chain. On May 3, 2009, Martinelli won by a large margin with 60% of the votes, a success which many attribute to his campaign expenditures of $35 million. 

 

Martinelli announced in mid-September of 2009 that by October 2010 his government will have launched a free wireless connection for the entire country. The project is estimated to cost $25.5 million.

 

Panama (Wikipedia)

Boquete Times (English)

Naval operations during the Spanish-American War (1898-1901) convinced President Theodore Roosevelt that the United States needed to control a canal somewhere in the Western Hemisphere. This interest culminated in the Spooner Bill of June 29, 1902, providing for a canal through the Isthmus of Panama (then a part of Colombia) and the Hay-Herrán Treaty of January 22, 1903, under which Colombia gave consent to such a project in the form of a 100-year lease on an area 10 kilometers wide. The treaty, however, was not ratified in Bogotá, and the United States, determined to construct a canal across the isthmus, began encouraging the Panamanians to rebel from Colombian control.

 

By July 1903, a revolutionary junta had been created in Panama. José Augustin Arango, an attorney for the Panama Railroad Company, headed the junta. Manuel Amador Guerrero and Carlos C. Arosemena served on the junta from the start, and five other members, all from prominent Panamanian families, were added. Arango was considered the brains of the revolution, and Amador was the junta’s active leader.

 

In October and November 1903, the revolutionary junta, with the protection of United States naval forces, carried out a successful uprising against the Colombian government. The United States prevented a Colombian force from moving across the isthmus to Panama City to suppress the insurrection.

 

President Roosevelt recognized the new Panamanian junta as the de facto government on November 6, 1903. US and Panamanian representatives concluded the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty shortly thereafter, granting the US extensive rights including a grant “in perpetuity of the use, occupation, and control” of a 16 kilometer-wide strip of territory and extensions of three nautical miles into the sea from each terminal “for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection” of an isthmian canal.

 

Furthermore, the United States was entitled to acquire additional areas of land or water necessary for canal operations and held the option of exercising eminent domain in Panamá City. Within this territory Washington gained “all the rights, power, and authority … which the United States would possess and exercise if it were the sovereign … to the entire exclusion” of Panama.

 

In return, the US guaranteed the “independence” of Panama, while retaining the right to intervene in Panama’s domestic affairs. For the rights it obtained, the United States was to pay $10 million and an annuity, beginning 9 years after ratification, of $250,000 in gold coins.

 

In the very first year of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, dissension arose over the sovereignty issue. Mounting friction finally led Roosevelt to dispatch Secretary of War William Howard Taft to Panama in November 1904. His visit resulted in a compromise agreement, whereby the United States retained control of the ports of Ancón and Cristóbal, but their facilities might be used by any ships entering Panama City and Colón. The agreement also involved a reciprocal reduction of tariffs and the free passage of persons and goods from the Canal Zone into the republic.

 

Threats to the Panamanian government by General Estéban Huertas resulted, at the suggestion of the United States diplomatic mission, in disbanding the Panamanian army in 1904. The army was replaced by the National Police. Nevertheless, by 1920, the United States had intervened four times in Panama, sending in US Marines or other military personnel. “To protect lives of United States citizens and property” in Chiriquí Province, an occupation force was stationed there for two years over the protests of Panamanians. United States involvement in the 1925 rent riots in Panama City was also widely resented; 600 U.S. troops with fixed bayonets dispersed mobs threatening to seize the city.

 

In 1925, the Kellogg-Alfaro Treaty was signed, giving the United States important security-related concessions. Panama agreed to automatic participation in any war involving the United States and to United States supervision and control of military operations within the republic. These and other clauses aroused strong opposition in the National Assembly which refused to consider the draft treaty.

 

At the end of the 1920s, traditional United States policy toward intervention was revised. In 1928, Washington declined to intervene during the national elections that placed Florencio H. Arosemena in office, even though Arosemena was quite corrupt. When a coup d'état was undertaken to unseat Arosemena, the United States declined to intervene. In his inaugural address in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the Good Neighbor Policy. Roosevelt’s visit to the republic in the summer of 1934 paved the way for opening negotiations on replacing the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty.

 

On March 2, 1936, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Assistant Secretary of State Sumner Welles joined Panamanian negotiators in signing a new treaty (the Hull-Alfaro Treaty) and three related conventions. The conventions regulated radio communications and provided for the United States to construct a new trans-isthmian highway connecting Panamá City and Colón.

 

By the 1960s military activities in the Canal Zone were under the direction of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The primary mission of SOUTHCOM was to defend the canal. In addition, SOUTHCOM served as the nerve center for a wide range of military activities in Latin America, including communications, training Latin American military personnel, overseeing United States military assistance advisory groups, and conducting joint military exercises with Latin American armed forces.

 

Negotiations for a new set of treaties began in June 1971, but little was accomplished until March 1973 when, at the urging of Panama, the United Nations Security Council called a special meeting in Panama City. A resolution calling on the United States to negotiate a “just and equitable” treaty was vetoed by the United States on the grounds that the disposition of the canal was a bilateral matter. Panama had succeeded, however, in dramatizing the issue and gaining international support. Over the next several years, negotiations continued as Panama pushed for greater control over the Canal Zone. On September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos met in Washington to sign the Panama Canal Treaty, which abrogated the 1903 treaty and all other previous bilateral agreements concerning the canal.

 

The Panama Canal Company and the Canal Zone government would cease to operate and Panama would assume complete legal jurisdiction over the former Canal Zone immediately, although the United States would retain jurisdiction over its citizens during a 30-month transition period. Panama granted the United States rights to operate, maintain, and manage the canal through a new United States government agency, the Panama Canal Commission, until 2000, when full control of the canal was turned over to Panama.

 

The US and Panama also agreed to a second treaty, the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality (PDF) and Operation of the Panama Canal (aka the Neutrality Treaty). Because it had no fixed termination date, this treaty was a major source of controversy. Under its provisions, the United States and Panama agreed to guarantee the canal’s neutrality “in order that both in time of peace and in time of war it shall remain secure and open to peaceful transit by the vessels of all nations on terms of entire equality.” In times of war, however, United States and Panamanian warships were entitled to “expeditious” transit of the canal.

 

Ratification of the two treaties in the US Senate did not come easily. The debates, some of the longest in Senate history, began on February 7, 1978. The Neutrality Treaty was approved on March 16, and the main treaty on April 18, when the debate finally ended. To win the necessary two-thirds support, Carter agreed to the inclusion of a number of amendments, conditions, reservations, and understandings that were passed during the Senate debates and subsequently included in the instruments of ratification signed by Carter and Torrijos.

 

Notable among the Senate modifications of the Neutrality Treaty were two amendments incorporating the October 1977 Statement of Understanding, and interpreting the “expeditious” transit of United States and Panamanian warships in times of war as being preferential. Another modification, commonly known as the DeConcini Condition, stated that “if the Canal is closed, or its operations are interfered with [the United States and Panama shall each] have the right to take such steps as each deems necessary, ... including the use of military force in the Republic of Panama, to reopen the Canal or restore the operations of the Canal.” Panamanian lawmakers refused to ratify this provision.

 

The United States turned over control of the canal to Panama at the end of 1999, according to the terms of the 1977 treaty, at which point Panama assumed responsibility for operating and defending the canal. All US troops were withdrawn from Panama at that time and all US military installations reverted to Panamanian control. However, under the terms of the Treaty on the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, the United States retained the right to use military force if necessary to reopen the canal or restore its operations.

 

 

Relations during the 1980s came to be centered around one man: Manuel Noriega. The longtime military strongman began working with the Central Intelligence Agency in the late 1950s, and by the early 1970s, his prominence vis-à-vis Washington led the Nixon administration to ask him to travel to Havana, Cuba, to obtain the release of crewmen of two American ships seized by Fidel Castro’s government. Noriega was already involved in drug deals by this time, which US drug enforcement agents knew about. But officials in Washington continued to court the Panamanian strongman, who eventually took over G-2, Panama’s military intelligence command.

 

Dictator Torrijos died in a mysterious plane crash on August 1, 1981. The circumstances of his death generated charges and speculation that he was the victim of an assassination plot. With Torrijos gone, Noriega was firmly in control of both the military and civilian government. For much of the time that President Ronald Reagan was in power, key administration officials involved in the Iran-Contra scheme tried utilizing Noriega, who offered help in destabilizing the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. People like Oliver North ignored Noriega’s drug running with Columbian drug lords while concentrating on his anti-Sandinista role.

 

Eventually, though, officials in Washington decided Noriega’s drug dealings had made him a liability and began to take actions to destabilize his grip on power in Panama. The United States froze economic and military assistance to Panama in the summer of 1987 following an attack on the US embassy. Noriega was then indicted in February 1988 in US court on drug-trafficking charges. In April 1988, President Reagan invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (PDF), freezing Panamanian government assets in US banks, withholding fees for using the canal, and prohibiting payments by American agencies, firms, and individuals to the Noriega regime. The country went into turmoil.

 

National elections in May 1989 were accompanied by accusations of fraud from both sides. American Kurt Muse, reportedly a CIA operative, was apprehended by the Panamanian authorities after he had set up a sophisticated radio and computer installation designed to jam Panamanian radio and broadcast phony election returns. However, the elections proceeded as planned, and Panamanians voted for the anti-Noriega candidates by a margin of over three-to-one. The Noriega regime promptly annulled the election and embarked on a new round of repression.

 

At the behest of the United States, the Organization of American States convened a meeting of foreign ministers, but was unable to obtain Noriega’s departure. The US began sending thousands of troops to bases in the Canal Zone. Panamanian authorities alleged that US troops left their bases and illegally stopped and searched vehicles in Panama. During this time, an American Marine got lost in the former French quarter of Panama City, ran a roadblock, and was killed by Panamanian Police. This prompted the United States to launch Operation Just Cause on December 20, 1989. American Marines quickly swarmed over key parts of Panama, looking for Noriega and disbanding his instruments of control. Fighting in Panama City and elsewhere killed numerous Panamanians, with estimates ranging from 500 to 7,000.

 

Noriega fled to the Vatican Embassy where diplomatic efforts for his detention included playing “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses, “Nowhere to Run” by Martha & the Vandelas, “Big Shot” by Billy Joel, “No Particular Place to Go” by Chuck Berry, “Hello, We’re Here” by Tom Hall and “The Party’s Over” by Journey as an attempt to drive him out of the embassy. Noriega was captured and sent to the US where he was tried on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering in April 1992. His conviction resulted initially in a 40-year sentence, later reduced to 30 years. But in 2007, the US Parole Commission deemed Noriega eligible for parole. While in US prison, the former Panamanian leader was tried in absentia in France on drug-related crimes, and upon the announcement of his parole, French officials sought his extradition to France. As of December 2008, Noriega remained in US prison, pending the outcome of the extradition battle.

 

Noriega’s Involvement with the Contras (National Security Archives, George Washington University)

Manuel Noriega Biography (Notable Biographies.com)

Manuel Noriega (Wikipedia)

The United States has close relations with Panama, stemming in large part from the extensive linkages developed when the canal was under US control and Panama hosted major US military installations. The current relationship is characterized by extensive counter-narcotics cooperation, assistance to help Panama assure the security of the Canal, and growing bilateral free trade.

 

The United States and Panama announced the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement in December 2006, although US officials stated the agreement was subject to additional discussions on labor. Subsequently, congressional leaders and the Bush Administration announced a bipartisan deal in May 2007, whereby pending FTAs, including that with Panama, would include enforceable key labor and environmental standards. On June 28, 2007, the United States and Panama signed the FTA, which included the enforceable labor and environmental provisions. Panama’s Legislative Assembly overwhelmingly approved the agreement in July 2007.

 

Approval by the US Congress has been slowed, however, by the emergence of Pedro Miguel González as the head of Panama’s legislature. González is wanted in the United States for his alleged role in the murder of a US serviceman in Panama in 1992. It was expected that once his term expired in September 2008, lawmakers in Congress would agree to take up the ratification of the FTA.

 

The State Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, US Coast Guard, and the Department of Homeland Security are involved in providing counter-narcotics support to Panama. In October 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) helped Panama solve the mystery of deaths ultimately traced to contaminated cough syrup from China (at least 100 deaths were traced to the contaminant). The Department of Health and Human Services is providing support for a Regional Training Center for health-care workers in Panama City that will train students from throughout Central America. The US Southern Command also provides support to Panama through military exercises providing humanitarian and medical assistance, and at times provides emergency assistance in the case of natural disasters such as floods or droughts. The US Southern Command also has sponsored annual multinational training exercises since 2003 focused on the defense of the Panama Canal.

 

In January 2005, Panama sent election supervisors to Iraq as part of the International Mission for Iraqi Elections to monitor the national elections.

 

In February 2007, Panama and the United States signed a declaration of principles intended to lead to Panama’s participation in the Container Security Initiative (CSI) operated by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Megaports Initiative run by the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy. Panama’s port of Balboa became operational under the CSI in August 2007, while the ports of Colón and Manzanillo became operational in September 2007. CSI is intended to ensure that containers posing a potential risk for terrorism are identified and inspected at foreign ports before they are placed on vessels destined for the United States. The Megaports Initiative has the goal of deploying radiation detection equipment to ports in order to detect nuclear or radioactive materials.

 

A sensitive issue in US-Panamanian relations has been Panama’s desire to have the United States clean up three contaminated firing ranges in Panama as well as San Jose Island, which was contaminated with chemical weapons used in training exercises during World War II. American officials maintain that the United States has already met its treaty obligations to clean up the firing ranges. With regard to the cleanup of San Jose Island, Panama rejected a US offer in September 2003 that would have provided equipment and training so that Panama could clean up the island. The Panamanian government maintains that it did not want to sign any agreement releasing the United States from liabilities.

 

A total of 921,723 identified themselves as being of Panamanian origin in the 2000 US census. They have settled in the Northeast, the Gulf coast, the Pacific coast, and the Great Lakes region. New York City claims the largest community of Panamanians in the US.

 

In 2006, 191,094 Americans visited Panama. The number of American tourists to Panama has increased significantly every year since 2002, when 111,627 Americans journeyed to the Central American country.

 

The number of Panamanians visiting the US in 2006 was 81,358. There has been a slight increase in the number of Panamanians visiting the US in recent years, up from a low of 72,413 tourists in 2003.

 

The State Department warns American citizens to avoid Darien Province. This region has become increasingly dangerous as drug traffickers cross into Panama from Colombia. Embassy personnel and Peace Corps volunteers are prohibited from crossing into this region without prior approval. Further, the Secretary of State has designated the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, all of which have bases in Darien Province.

American imports from Panama mostly consist of food, primarily seafood. Fish and shellfish represent the largest import by far, averaging more than $100 million a year from 2004 to 2007. In 2008 numbers dropped slightly below 100 million. No other import has come close to reaching the 100-million mark.

 

The next leading imports from 2004 to 2008 consisted of cane and beet sugar, rising from $13 million to $18 million and then dropping to $16 million in 2008; green coffee, averaging approximately $12 million a year; fruits and preparations, rising from $6 million to $14 million; fuel oil, jumping from $76,000 to $34 million; and non-monetary gold, increasing from $13 million to $40 million.

 

While the US imported a total of $379 million in goods in 2008, it exported far more to Panama: $5 billion. The best selling American exports were pharmaceutical preparations, dropping from $150 million to $87 million; civilian aircraft, which has fluctuated between $131 million and $167 million from 2004-2008; and fuel oil, which has risen from $359 million to $1.5 billion.

 

The US also sells a substantial amount of food to Panama, led by corn ($91.6 million), wheat ($42 million), rice ($24 million), animal feeds ($63.9 million), and “other foods” ($53 million).

 

Panama received $9.2 million in aid from the US in 2007. The largest recipient programs were the Andean Counterdrug Program ($4 million), and Economic Growth: Environment ($3.2 million). 

 

The budget request for 2009 will decrease aid slightly. The largest recipient programs will be Foreign Military Financing ($2.1 million), Private Sector Competitiveness ($1.4 million) and Trade and Investment ($3 million).

 

In 2006, voters in Panama approved an ambitious plan to expand the size of the Panama Canal to accommodate a new fleet of cargo vessels. Known as “post-Panamax” ships, the vessels are too wide to fit through the 94-year-old canal, depriving Panama of revenue collected from ships. More than 14% of the Panamanian government’s annual $3.4 billion budget comes from the waterway, and the United States also has an important stake in the canal expansion. More than two-thirds of the ships that pass through the canal are coming from, or going to, American shores.

 

International shippers are backing the canal expansion that involves adding a deeper, wider third lane by 2014 at a cost of $5.25 billion project. The change is expected to double the canal’s capacity, and result in higher tolls for shippers.

 

Critics have questioned the plan’s finances and argue it will benefit foreign companies without alleviating pervasive local poverty. “This project is bad business for Panama,” said Roberto Mendez, an economics professor at the University of Panama. At the heart of the problem are quarrels over cost and demand forecasts. The expansion assumes the past decade’s steady increase in world trade will continue until 2025, while critics say rising US-China tensions will curtail it.

 

Even if the canal expansion goes through as planned, American ports may not be in a position next decade to handle the traffic created by new post-Panamax vessels, which are longer than four football fields. Many US ports are not deep enough to fit the behemoths, requiring dredging and other changes that can take years to complete because of regulatory and environmental rules.

 

U.S. may not be ready for Panama Canal's expansion (by Jim Landers, Dallas Morning News)

 

American officials denied a visa to a member of Panama’s Supreme Court in 2005, citing allegations of graft by the jurist. Coming as part of a new policy of denying tourist visas to government officials suspected of corruption, the decision touched off controversy…and no small amount of puzzlement. The visa of Panamanian Supreme Court Magistrate Winston Spadafora was revoked for alleged unspecified acts of corruption and because it was feared his entry might cause harm to the United States, a US Embassy spokesman said in Panama. The US government publicly provided no evidence to back up its charges, and Spadafora had not been formally charged with a crime in either Panama or the US.

 

American officials have described Panama’s judicial system as extraordinarily corrupt. Rumors have circulated in Panama that in his former capacity as interior minister, a post that oversees police and prisons, Spadafora sold favors to drug traffickers and land developers. American officials said they were enforcing the visa denial policy as a means to promote democracy and transparency in government. “It’s a way the US government has to say it doesn’t agree with countries that turn a blind eye to corruption,” said one analyst.

 

A spokesman for the Panamanian Interior Ministry said the government had no intention of even requesting the information, much less opening an inquiry on the alleged corruption charges that led to the visa denial. Officials previously said that the visa denial was a “personal matter” between the judge and the US State Department. Spadafora’s attorney said his client had committed no illegal act and that the cancellation was made without giving the judge a chance to respond. He noted that those accused have no legal recourse and face a suspension of US visa privileges for as long as 40 years.

U.S. Denial of Judge’s Visa Stirs Controversy (by Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times)

Spadafora’s Nephew Involved in Fraud Case (Panama News Briefs)

According to the State Department, the most significant human rights problems in Panama include harsh prison conditions. The State department report listed the following as the main human rights issues, “abuse by prison guards; prolonged pretrial detention; corruption, ineffectiveness, and political manipulation of the judicial system; political pressure on the media; citizenship determination; discrimination and violence against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination against indigenous communities; and child labor.”

 

Prison conditions are described as harsh and, in some cases, life-threatening. Problems include, overcrowding and the failure to divide inmates based on the severity of the crime committed. 

 

The prison system, which according to the State Department, “…had an official capacity of 7,126 persons, held 11,445 prisoners. Most prisons remained dilapidated and overcrowded. Despite a 2004 recommendation that the government begin closing La Chorrera Prison due to overcrowding and very unsanitary conditions, it remained open with 471 inmates.” In addition to these problems, abuses of inmates by prison guards have also been reported. 

 

Moreover, prisons showed inadequate capability to provide medical care for inmates with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B along with other communicable diseases found in prison populations.

 

Corruption amongst police officers was also reported and described by media coverage, as follows: “… inmates paid prison authorities to remodel their cells and to bring into the prison televisions, fax machines, microwave ovens, and other electronic devices.”

 

According to journalists and press freedom advocacy organizations reports stated that the government engaged in substantial manipulation of the free flow of information. Furthermore according to the State Departments report, “journalists alleged that the government purchased advertising space to reward news organizations for publishing favorable stories and withdrew advertising funding from news organizations engaged in unfavorable coverage. Legal actions were pending against many journalists.”

 

There was societal discrimination against homosexuals, and gay persons were often denied employment opportunities. The internal regulations of the Panamanian police describe homosexuality as a “grave fault.” There were reports that police officers were fired because of the officers’ sexual preferences and that officers hid their sexual orientation due to fear of job termination. The director of the Office of Professional Responsibility of the Police defended the regulations policy on the basis that both physical and mental health was required of police officers.

 

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS in employment and education, but discrimination continued to be common due to ignorance of the law and of HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Health and Social Security provided treatment for HIV/AIDS, but the government had problems maintaining stocks of retroviral medication.

 

William I. Buchanan
Appointment: Dec 17, 1903
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Feb 2, 1904
Note: Buchanan had presented credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on special mission in Dec 1903; he received new credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary only a few days before he was to leave Panama and apparently did not present them. He ceased to act "on special mission," however, and conducted business in the capacity of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary until his departure.

 

John Barrett
Appointment: Mar 17, 1904
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 22, 1904
Termination of Mission: Left Panama May 13, 1905

 

Charles E. Magoon
Appointment: Jul 3, 1905
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 7, 1905
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 25, 1906
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 16, 1905.

 

Herbert G. Squiers
Appointment: Oct 20, 1906
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 8, 1906
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 3, 1909
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 6, 1906.

 

R. S. Reynolds Hitt
Appointment: Dec 21, 1909
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 26, 1910
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Jul 19, 1910

 

Thomas C. Dawson
Appointment: Jun 24, 1910
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 24, 1910
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Dec 1, 1910

 

H. Percival Dodge
Appointment: Jul 6, 1911
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 9, 1911
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 10, 1913

 

William Jennings Price
Appointment: Aug 20, 1913
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 11, 1913
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Dec 28, 1921

 

John Glover South
Appointment: Oct 8, 1921
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 28, 1921
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Jan 5, 1930

 

Roy T. Davis
Appointment: Dec 16, 1929
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 14, 1930
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Sep 20, 1933

 

Antonio C. Gonzalez
Appointment: Aug 28, 1933
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 11, 1933
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Jan 9, 1935
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 15, 1934.

 

George T. Summerlin
Appointment: Dec 10, 1934
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; did not serve under this appointment.

George T. Summerlin
Appointment: Jan 22, 1935
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 8, 1935
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 7, 1937

 

Frank P. Corrigan
Appointment: Aug 9, 1937
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 2, 1937
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 14, 1939

 

William Dawson
Appointment: Mar 23, 1939
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 14, 1939
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Apr 21, 1941

 

Edwin C. Wilson
Appointment: Feb 11, 1941
Presentation of Credentials: May 23, 1941
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 23, 1943

Avra M. Warren
Appointment: Mar 21, 1944
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 22, 1944
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 5, 1945

 

R. Henry Norweb
Appointment: Feb 9, 1945
Note: Did not serve under this appointment.

 

Frank T. Hines
Appointment: Aug 17, 1945
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; did not serve under this appointment.
Appointment: Sep 14, 1945
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 1, 1945
Termination of Mission: Left post Feb 20, 1948

 

Monnett B. Davis
Appointment: Feb 26, 1948
Presentation of Credentials: May 28, 1948
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 24, 1951

 

John C. Wiley
Appointment: Jun 20, 1951
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 25, 1951
Termination of Mission: Left post Nov 27, 1953

 

Selden Chapin
Appointment: Oct 1, 1953
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 22, 1954
Termination of Mission: Left post May 29, 1955
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 26, 1954.

 

Julian F. Harrington
Appointment: Jul 27, 1955
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 30, 1955
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 14, 1960

 

Joseph S. Farland
Appointment: Jun 24, 1960
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 29, 1960
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 31, 1963

Note: Wallace W. Stuart was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when Panama severed diplomatic relations with the U.S., Jan 10, 1964. The Embassy in Panama was reestablished Apr 3, 1964, with Henry L. Taylor as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.

 

Jack Hood Vaughn
Appointment: Apr 8, 1964
Presentation of Credentials: May 6, 1964
Termination of Mission: Left Panama Feb 27, 1965

 

Charles W. Adair, Jr.
Appointment: May 6, 1965
Presentation of Credentials: May 13, 1965
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 6, 1969

 

Robert M. Sayre
Appointment: Sep 15, 1969
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 31, 1969
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 14, 1974

 

Frank T. Bow
Appointment: Sep 11, 1972
Note: Died in the U.S. before taking oath of office.

 

William J. Jorden
Appointment: Feb 11, 1974
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 17, 1974
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 25, 1978

 

Ambler Holmes Moss, Jr.
Appointment: Sep 23, 1978
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 6, 1978
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 15, 1982

 

Edward Ellis Briggs
Appointment: Sep 30, 1982
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 29, 1982
Termination of Mission: Left post Feb 24, 1986

 

Arthur H. Davis
Appointment: Mar 4, 1986
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 4, 1986
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 3, 1990

 

Deane Roesch Hinton
Appointment: Jan 2, 1990
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 9, 1990
Termination of Mission: Left post Feb 12, 1994
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Apr 6, 1990.

 

Note: Oliver P. Garza served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, Feb 1994–Nov 1995.

 

Robert A. Pastor
Note: Nomination of June 8, 1994 not acted upon by the Senate; withdrawn Jan 31, 1995.

 

William J. Hughes
Appointment: Oct 3, 1995
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 7, 1995
Termination of Mission: Left post Oct 13, 1998

 

Simon Ferro
Appointment: Oct 22, 1998
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 26, 1999
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 1, 2001

 

Linda Ellen Watt
Appointment: Nov 15, 2002
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 17, 2002
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jun 3, 2005

 

William Alan Eaton
Appointment: May 31, 2005
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 9, 2005
Termination of Mission: Left post August 2008

 

 

Jaramillo attended college at Louisiana State University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in business management with emphasis in marketing. He earned a master’s degree in business management from INCAE Business School in Costa Rica, an academic institution founded by the Harvard Business School, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Central American private sector.

 

From 1993–1999, Jaramillo served as director for the national secretariat of science and technology.

 

Jaramillo has spent the bulk of his career in the private sector, where he was chairman of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives and vice chairman of the National Council of Private Enterprise. He also has been a member of the boards of directors of Panama’s Chamber of Commerce for the past 14 years; the Private Sector Council for Educational Assistance; and the Foundation for Sustainable Development, among others.

 

In July 2010, Jaramillo was chosen to become the executive secretary of the National Coalition for Development, a dialogue forum between the government, political parties and civil society sponsored by the United Nations Development Program to develop a national plan to strengthen democracy, combating poverty and inequalities.  He held this position until his appointment as ambassador to the U.S.

 

He has represented the Panamanian government on the board of Union Fenosa, an international company that produces and distributes gas and electricity in Panama. At the time, Jaramillo was also a member of the board of directors of the Panamanian National Institute of Professional Formation, representing the private sector.

 

Jaramillo has been an active member of the Rotary Club, as well as the Association of the U.S. Army since 1986.

 

He and his wife, Elsa, have a son and a daughter.

 

Official Biography (Embassy of Panama)