OE Watch Commentary: When the Panamanian Minister of Public Security Alexis Bethancourt took office in May 2016, he promised to make Panama “the most secure country in the Americas.” Many factors can be considered when determining if Bethancourt has kept his word, but some in Panama believe there is one area he has excelled at and that is in attacking drug trafficking head on. This idea is demonstrated by the fact that Panamanian authorities seized 84.6 metric tons of drugs (primarily cocaine) in 2017, surpassing the record amount of 72 metric tons seized in 2016 as reported in the excerpted article from La Patilla. The Ministry of Public Security, the National Aeronaval Service (SENAN), the National Border Service (SENAFRONT) and the National Police unveiled this figure at a recent press conference, citing international cooperation as the key to seizing drugs and combatting criminal organizations. Apart from drugs, Deputy Police Director Alonso Vega discussed other feats made by the Panamanians during 2017 to include cash, weapon and boat seizures as well as the confiscation of drug production equipment.
Panama’s drug seizures are even more impressive when compared to those of neighboring countries. For example, Costa Rica is also working hard to thwart drug trafficking and in recent years, has made strides but the numbers do not compare. For example, Costa Rica seized 12.14 metric tons of cocaine in 2012, 15.1 in 2015, 25 in 2016, and 29.8 in 2017 according to the country’s Ministry of Public Security. Drug seizures in Costa Rica are significantly less than those in Panama, but it is important to take into account that Costa Rica is 1 of 22 countries in the world that does not have a military. Because of this, they must fight their internal drug issues with limited resources such as the Coast Guard, the National Police Force and the National Drug Police.
Excessive drug passage through Panama and Costa Rica is a direct result of the fact that they are both transit countries for the largest drug producers in South America to include Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. The excerpted article from Univision notes that Colombian authorities made the largest cocaine bust in the country’s history when they seized 12 metric tons on 8 November 2017. This seizure occurred in a banana-growing region of the northwest Antioquia Province, near Colombia’s border with Panama.
Some in Panama believe the success in seizing record amounts of cocaine can be attributed to extensive training provided to both SENAN and SENAFRONT members by partner nations, including the United States and Colombia. Local security forces also conduct tactical and weapons training with neighboring Colombia and Guatemala, as well as with other countries, all with the end goal of achieving enhanced success in counter-drug operations. Panama is also proactive in enhancing regional interoperability and in 2016, hosted UNITAS, an exercise that focused on maritime exercises and in-port training as discussed in the excerpted article from La Estrella de Panamá. What is certain is that Central America is a key transit region for cocaine from South America, but countries such as Panama are taking a proactive approach in seeking out training and working with their neighbors to thwart this issue as best they can. End OE Watch Commentary (Fiegel)