Caribbean & Central America - November 2016 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Last month, Panama’s Security Minister Alexis Bethancourt suspended all trips abroad in order to direct police operations against local delinquents. Announced on 10 October, his decision points to continued problems facing the Partido Panameñista (PPA)-led El Pueblo Primero (EPP) coalition government led by President Juan Carlos Varela vis-à-vis security – the chief public concern – despite its recent claims of progress.

Bethancourt had been due to head up a government delegation sent to attend the 10-12 October 12th Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas (XII CDMA) in Trinidad & Tobago. However, the announcement that he would no longer be attending came the same day that a shootout took place in the Arco Iris area of Colón City (the capital of the eponymous province) which left three people dead. Four days earlier, the security ministry announced that Bethancourt would lead an operation which was due to start on 22 October known as ‘Colón Seguro’ in Colón City with the support of national police (PN) chief, Omar Pinzón; executive secretary of the national security council, Rolando López; and Carlos Rumbo Pérez, the provincial PN director. The operation has five basic components: capturing drug traffickers; seizing illegal weapons from the streets; adding more PN officers to the streets; strengthening intelligence to locate local delinquents; and sending more resources to the province (although figures were not specified). The security ministry also announced that anyone who provided information resulting in the arrest of drug traffickers would receive compensation of between US$20,000-US$25,000. According to the press release, the ministry has information that drug gangs are sending drugs to Europe and the US from Colón.

The continued need to address security was suggested by a Dichter & Neira survey released on 20 September which found that it topped the list of public concerns – cited as such by 21% of the 1,200 respondents, ahead of the cost of living (17%) and unemployment (13%). Meanwhile, a subsequent survey by the same pollster, released on 18 October, showed that just 16% of respondents thought that security had improved under the Varela administration which took office in July 2014, while 73% are in favour of more police officers on the streets, and 88% would like security cameras to be installed throughout urban areas. The latest Dichter & Neira survey gave Varela 39% approval, his second worst rating in the last 12 months (above only 36% registered in August).

Yet this comes despite claims of progress by the government. On 3 October, the security ministry published figures which showed that from January to 27 September 2016, 304 homicides were registered nationwide down from 374 over the same period in 2015. The report also shows that in the past three years, the national homicide rate has fallen – from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014, to 12.4 in 2015 and to 7.5 currently. As regards drug seizures, official figures released by the security ministry on 20 October showed that so far this year, 50.3 tonnes(t) of drugs had been confiscated and over 1,500 people had been arrested by the various forces that take part in anti-drug operations: the PN; the border service (Senafront); and national air service (Senan). According to the security ministry, the PN confiscated 26.5t of illegal drugs with Senan and Senafront confiscating 21.5t and 2.3t respectively. Bethancourt said that in 2015 a record 58 tonnes of drugs had been confiscated and that the latest figures suggest that this could well be surpassed in 2016.

• Drug seizures

According to a 20 October report by Panama’s security ministry, over the last eight years, a total of 371.2tonnes (t) of drugs have been seized. This breaks down as: 54.3t in 2009; 54.2t in 2010; 39.6t in 2011; 35.1 in 2012; 41t in 2013; 39t in 2014; 58t in 2015 and 50.3t so far in 2016.