Political gangsterism threat to Panama media

Taking a look at the annual report on the situation of human rights in Panama, prepared by the Department of State of the United States (USA), causes tremendous shame because we have learned to live –and coexist– in the mud, where it seems that we felt very welcome. The report addresses many issues on which this country receives the same grades as our battered education: poor and very poor. But I want to refer to an observation made by an official from the US Embassy in Panama on an issue that concerns freedom of the press and expression writes Rolando Rodriguez in La Prensa.

Nathan Eckstein, human rights officer at the US embassy and leader of the team that prepares the local report, spoke of the “use and abuse of the law against journalists”, although that is not all. The law allows conflict resolution in a civilized way, but what happens when someone wants to take the law into their hands?

Let’s look at the law first. In Panama, it is a valuable instrument to terrorize the media and journalists, used by politicians when they feel attacked. Complaints, lawsuits, civil actions, sequestration of assets, etc. Clearly, what they seek is to instill fear, promote self-censorship and continue doing – at their leisure – what they do with the discretion of a herd of stampeding elephants: rob us. And although many times legal actions do not work, because they have no basis, they do have a pernicious effect: drowning the media in legal expenses that, in the end, end up in some cases –not in all– in self-censorship.

But Eckstein tackled something more serious. He said the US is closely watching threats of violence against journalists in Panama, something that is common in other countries in the region. “We are thinking about this issue and I hope we don’t see it in Panama,” he said. I also hope that this is the case because if we already live in a climate of fear, I do not want to know the effect that it would have on sources and the media to see a journalist murdered, thrown into a ditch, executed because he thought of messing with one of those elephants.

Hit men released
How long until something like this happens? In my opinion, not much. If we consider that gang members have been found working in the government, that their penetration has reached officials of the Judicial and Legislative bodies, and that there are judges who would not hesitate to release a hitman, the possibilities increase exponentially. Quite simply, there will never be guilty. Who will dare to confront a politician who has the power and the hitman to kill with impunity?

Eckstein’s concern is justified. Organized crime has money to corrupt; he now lives in Punta Pacifica; He has powerful political allies who have facilitated his presence in the three organs of the State and he enjoys the same armor as his protectors. He is the new Panama of political gangsterism.