Martinelli trip to Cuba was personal, says Varela

Martinelli trip to Cuba was personal, says Varela
Panamá, martes 17 de Agosto de 2010

Vice-President and Chancellor of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, clarified yesterday that the recent visit by Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli to Cuba was "personal."

Martinelli traveled last weekend with his wife and children and in his private jet, the Chancellor told local media.

The Panamanian head of diplomacy went on to explain that Martinelli took advantage of this personal visit to the island to meet with Cuban leader Raúl Castro, but asserted that the Foreign Ministry of Panama was not involved in the preparations for the trip or any issues that dealt with the rulers of the two nations because "it was not an official visit."

Last Saturday, Aug. 14, the Cuban media reported that the meeting between Castro and Martinelli was private and that the two leaders exchanged views on various topics of interest, in particular on bilateral relations.

http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2010/08/17/hoy/english/news_4444.asp

Hard to know what to make of it--but it bears watching. Another poster has told us that the trade unions around the Canal are threatening to strike. We know that the U.S. has beefed up its military presence in Panama and, now, Costa Rica (!), as well as the major U.S. military buildup in Colombia and in an arc around Venezuela's oil coast and northern oil provinces. My first thought was that maybe Martinelli was carrying a private message from Obama. Maybe Obama is worried about the Canal--worried that it will be shut down by a strike, and, if he moves some of these U.S. forces in the region, to Panama, to keep the Canal open, wanted to send assurances to Cuba that it would a limited operation? Or, could Obama be trying to avert a Pentagon war plan? Could be something more mundane, but the president of a U.S. client state like Panama doesn't visit Cuba for no reason.

you'd expect to learn has made any trip to Cuba. It's completely baffling, and even moreso when he goes on serious business, not for tourism, and takes a private plane.

I'll never forget the previous President of Panama, Mireya Moscoso, was a personal ally of _{George W. Bush} who pardoned the Cuban "exiles" from Miami who were in prison for their plot to assassinate Fidel Castro by bombing a large auditorium holding thousands who were scheduled to hear him speaking. She did it on her LAST day as President, after which she called the "exile" community in Miami to tell them about it, then immediately moved to Miami, herself. Miami was, at one time,the largest installation of CIA personel in the world.

This behavior by Martinelli seems inconsistant with previous Panamanian Presidents' movements.