Former chief of the National Police Rolando A. Mirones Jr. launched some strong criticism against minister of government and justice Raul Mulino for his attitude towards the presence of the FARC in the Panama-Colombia border area.
On his blog, Mirones writes that when he was chief of police the policy was to not open fire on suspected guerrillas except in the case lives were in danger or to protect the local population. Instead, the police would engage with them diplomatically and request they leave the area.
"This procedure hasn't been perfect, but it has been proven to be the most effective under the local circumstances", writes Mirones. "The region has not been exempt from violence and insecurity, but what has happened there so far will only be the tip of the iceberg of what could happen if we declare war on the FARC, irrespective of the reasons brought forward to sustain such a decision".
Mirones dismisses Mulino's statements that he doesn't want war with the FARC. "The problem with that is that when a minister is forced to say publicly that he doesn't want a war, he does so because he knows that what he has said and/or done earlier indicates the contrary".
Read the full piece by Mirones (in Spanish) here.
Good article; Okkie. Panama got a rather small military problem with FARC in Darien; compared with the ineptitude been shown by Martinelli, Mulino, and numb-nuts Peres. All three seem held bend in pushing a war with Colombia’s FARC; a war that Panama can’t win. None of the dumb asses before mention has war experience, unless we count Pere’s forray capturing US Hostages as a war expereince. Worse, none has a military
education (unless we count beatting little old men and ladies carring white handkershifts in civil protest during Noriega’s regime). Panama’s Darien can’t be defended by guns; just like Vietnam couldn’t. In some ways, Darien is worse. You could hide an army of ten of thousands in Darien; and not even Uncle Sam with all it’s gadgets could find them. Is that kind of terrain. When you speak of a defensive line between the Pacific and the Atlantic in Panama; you talking Chepo at best. Isla Grande in the Atlantic. Pull your map, and see how easly it would be to hit Panama City in those conditions. Worse, it wouldn’t take mucho to over run that line, by a population of thugs from the FARC; that have the same physical characteristics of Panama’s population. For some reason, me think Martinelli is trying to pull the US in to a no win situacion. Dreams of Grandeur by Martinelli? Wish for profits from a war by Uncle Sam’s army (lots of money into de economy) what ever. Some one is playing with fire, in Darien. I am speaking of a worse case scenerario; I know; but wars got a tendency to get out of hand. Usualy the best war plans last until the first shot is fired. They never work out. I think Mirones is right on this one. Crazy Generals win battles; while loosing all there troops. Carfull Generals win wars.