Panama, Colombia and NATO

Marco A. Gandásegui h.

14/08/2014

Opinión

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Relations between Panama and Colombia are good, although there are some setbacks which date back to the past. Problems have recently surfaced with the military. Under the leadership of the United States, the Panamanian law enforcement agencies (the military, police and intelligence) have submitted to various agreements which subordinate national sovereignty to the interests of the neighbouring country.

This is clear: on the one hand, with respect to the common border shared by both countries on the Darién Gap; on the other hand, with the PANAMAX military training exercise which the United States carry out every year (with no legal basis) along the Panama Canal. The US Southern Command delegates to the Army of Colombia the coordination of manoeuvres on the ground, carried out by their military units. It’s a euphemistic way of saying that Panama is subject to the orders of the Colombian officials.

This situation has been intensifying since the end of the 1990s. President Martín Torrijos – with no justification whatsoever – was a keen promoter of the militarisation of the Panamanian law enforcement agencies. President Martinelli took the opportunity to purchase weapons in an irresponsible manner. There’s no indication that current President Varela will implement a different policy.

However, Panama is currently facing another problem which complicates its relations with Colombia and the US. Colombia wants to establish relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the world’s most violent military alliance. NATO is headed by the United States and boasts the most powerful European countries amongst its members. At the end of the past century, the Southern Cone dictatorships (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) were considered NATO honorary members.

Everything is pointing towards it now being Colombia’s turn. On 5 March this year, the Colombian Minister of Defence, Juan C. Pinzón, had a meeting with the Director of the NATO Office of Security, Stephen Smith, in order to set a cooperation agreement in motion. The agreement was rejected in the region, as it was considered a grave betrayal against Latin America. Brazil’s Minister of Defence, Celso Amorim, stated that “we respect the countries’ sovereignty but we’re watching anxiously as a member state draws closer to an extra-regional military defence alliance”.

The agreement is similar to that which Panama’s General Manuel A. Noriega didn’t ratify with the United States in 1986 to turn the Panamanian Defence Forces into the guardians of Washington, with Central America in turmoil. In Brussels, Colombia accepted NATO’s proposal to increase the number of troops in some Central American and Caribbean countries, whatever NATO’s interests may be. Are there Colombian troops on this side of the border? If there are none right now, will there be Colombian troops there in the near future?

When Pinzón welcomed Smith, he pointed out that Colombia is looking to reach the highest standards of military training. It appears Minister Pinzón took the words straight out of General Noriega’s textbook. Colombia is interested in operating in aid missions in an eventual post-conflict setting. À la Noriega.

The Colombian Executive presented a bill to Congress, emphasising that “these relations in no case imply – nor could imply – the presence of foreign troops in Colombian territory, nor Colombia’s membership in NATO”. Nevertheless, it doesn’t stop Colombian troops from being able to take action in Panama or other countries. Pinzón also pointed out that “as long as Colombia strengthens its cooperation with multilateral bodies and other countries, the Armed Forces will be able to raise their technical and professional standards to the level of the world’s most advanced democracies and continue to develop more and more effective means in the fight against terrorism and organised crime”.

Socorro Ramírez, from the National University in Bogotá, explained that in the “regional geopolitical chessboard, Colombia is perceived as the closest ally to the United States, the country which commands NATO”. The Tribunal for Dignity, Sovereignty and Peace against the Colombian Conflict (Spanish: El Tribunal Dignidad, Soberanía, Paz contra la Guerra de Colombia) notes that the government of the neighbouring country has more than 700,000 men under arms: 400,000 in the army, navy and air force; 180,000 in the national police; 120,000 in what is known as intelligence work; and 80,000 men in the so-called irregular forces (i.e. organisations linked to illegal drugs and criminal gangs which boast a modern arsenal geared towards counter-insurgency warfare). Colombia is planning to restructure its military system in the event of attaining peace with the guerrilla armed forces of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). (Translated by Thomas McGuinn)

- Marco A. Gandásegui, Jr. is a Teacher of Sociology at the University of Panama and an Affiliated Investigator of CELA.

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