Weekly Report - 12 April 2005

The government of President Martí­n Torrijos is determined to re-establish the Panamanian armed forces, abolished by the constitution in 1994, according to former president Guillermo Endara (1989-94). He has arrived at this conclusion after hearing of a proposal by Gustavo Pérez, the director of the national police, to encourage the installation of a private (secondary-level) military academy on the US model, on the grounds of the old Fort Davis.