Before we get too deep into the partisan and nationalistic stereotypes, let us recall that the 2009 slate of Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela was put together at a meeting in the US Ambassador’s residence, and that the PRD alternative was to a lot of people — most Panamanians and a lot of foreign governments and individuals — far less acceptable. Archive photo of then US Ambassador Linda Watt and then Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, by Eric Jackson.
Eavesdropping, the alleged China
bribe and constitutional reform
The Varela Leaks are quite alarming, both in their content, which is surely edited, and because the fact that these interceptions were made at all plus other known data suggest that there is a paramilitary right-wing electronic surveillance operation ongoing in Panama right now.
The biggest national security / national sovereignty alarm in the content so far? WhatsApp chatter which indicates that China paid Varela a $143 million bribe to break relations with Taiwan and establish formal ties with the Beijing government.
The intercepted communications with the former American ambassador are other alarms of this sort. The content ougtht to be alarming to patriotic Panamanians. (For other reasons, as a matter of security procedurees, Feeley’s intercepted chats with Varela should be taken as a serious matter among American diplomats.)
On the point of the apparent Chinese bribe, we are bound to hear all manner of “Well, what about…?” stuff. Maybe the current bochinche that Cortizo has vetted his new attorney general pick with the US government will be part of that.
And what, really, of the Odebrecht scandal? Yes, a private Brazilian coporation, but one that was promoted by the Brazilian state. A
And the intercepts themselves, and the prior case ending in Ricardo Martinellis corrupt acquittal? The company that provided that capability arose out of the State of Israel’s security apparatus, its sales have been promoted by the Israeli government and since 2014 it has come under the control of a US-based hedge fund
All of this suggests that those of us seriously interested in a new Panamanian constitution that’s not about keeping the current thuggish gravy train rolling. We need to take up the entire matter of defending national sovereignty. It’s not contemplated in any modern and realistic way in the current constitution.
Some odd and embarrassing technical glitch or is someone saying that with all his self-centered reality show, Trump has lowered America’s defenses?
The White House kamikaze blob
WONDERFFUL stuff for conspiracy theorists!
Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fantasies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in after years relieved of them.
Hypatia of Alexandria (attributed)
Bear in mind…
Men who never get carried away should be.
Malcolm Forbes
Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.
Nelson Mandela
Boring people don’t have to stay that way.
Hedy Lamarr
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