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Panama Relations with Central America
Although it is part of the same geographic region as the
countries of
Central America (see Glossary),
Panama historically
has lacked strong political and economic ties with the five nations
immediately to its north. Panama was not a member of either the
Central American Common Market or the Central American Defense
Council, although it did have observer status with the latter body.
Under the rule of Torrijos, however, Panama actively sought to
expand its contacts with Central America. At first, much of this
was related to the effort to gain support in negotiations with the
United States over a new canal treaty. During the Nicaraguan civil
conflict of 1978-79, Torrijos gave political and military support
to the Sandinista guerrillas seeking to overthrow the dictatorship
of Anastasio Somoza. At the June 1979 OAS foreign ministers meeting
on Nicaragua, Panama allowed the foreign minister-designate of the
Sandinista-organized provisional government to sit with the
Panamanian delegation. After the Sandinistas took power, Torrijos
offered to train their military and police forces. But the
Panamanian mission soon found itself reduced to training traffic
police, and Torrijos, frustrated by growing Cuban influence in
Nicaragua, withdrew his advisers. Since then, Panamanian relations
with Nicaragua have been of lessened importance. Panamanian leaders
have criticized United States efforts directed against the
Sandinistas, but they also have criticized Sandinista policies.
Nevertheless, during the June 1987 crisis in Panama, Nicaraguan
President Daniel Ortega visited Panama, and the Nicaraguan
government expressed strong support for Delvalle and Noriega.
Torrijos also had attempted to influence internal events in El
Salvador, where he supported the reform efforts of Colonel Adolfo
Majano, a military academy classmate of his, who had been named to
the ruling junta in 1979. But Majano was removed from power in 1980
while visiting Panama, largely ending Panamanian influence in that
nation.
Relations with Costa Rica were cool for several decades,
following a 1921 settlement of the border dispute between the two
nations, a settlement that Panama viewed as largely unfavorable to
its interests. The opening of the Pan-American Highway between the
two nations led to an increase in commercial ties and contributed
to a steady strengthening of bilateral relations in the 1960s and
1970s. During the 1978-79 Nicaraguan civil conflict, Panama offered
to help defend Costa Rica's northern border from incursions by
Nicaraguan forces and, during the war's last months, then Costa
Rican President Rodrigo Carazo and Torrijos worked closely together
to facilitate the flow of supplies to the Sandinista insurgents.
Cordial relations were maintained with Carazo's successor, Luis
Alberto Monge, but numerous problems have emerged since Oscar Arias
became president of Costa Rica in 1986. These began with the
discovery, in Costa Rican territory, of the mutilated body of
leading Panamanian critic Spadafora. Commercial disputes also began
to disrupt trade. Early in 1987, the two nations signed an
agreement to regulate commerce in the border region, but a few days
later, Panama closed the border, claiming that Costa Rica was
violating the agreement. The border was reopened after a few days,
and in March presidents Delvalle and Arias signed an agreement
designed to deal with commercial problems and to promote
cooperation in areas such as health and education. Costa Rican
press criticism of Panamanian government policy following the June
disturbances, however, led to a cooling in relations. In December
the Panamanian ambassador to Costa Rica charged that United States
and Costa Rican officials were plotting to organize an invasion of
Panama and to assassinate Noriega. Costa Rica rejected the charges,
for which no supporting evidence was produced. Although this issue
soon faded, relations between the two nations at the end of 1987
were less cordial than they had been in preceding years.
Reflecting both the growth of Panamanian involvement in Central
American affairs and the expanded international role that the
nation has sought was Panama's participation in the
Contadora peace process (see Glossary).
In January 1983, Panama invited the foreign
ministers of Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia to meet at the island
resort of Contadora to discuss ways of mediating the conflicts in
Central America. The result was the formation of the Contadora
Group, a four-nation effort to promote a peaceful resolution of
Central American conflicts. Although Panama's role in the mediating
process was not so prominent as that of some of the other nations,
it did give Panama increased visibility and prestige in
international relations. Panama was also the site for many of the
group's meetings with Central American representatives. Although
the Contadora peace process failed to produce the hoped-for peace
treaty, and, since 1987, has taken a backseat to the peace
proposals of Costa Rica's President Arias, the Contradora group
still exists and, under the Arias Plan, could play a significant
role in dealing with security issues involving Central American
states.
Data as of December 1987
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