Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Panama
Publisher | United States Department of State |
Publication Date | 19 July 2017 |
Cite as | United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Panama, 19 July 2017, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/5981e42111.html [accessed 29 September 2017] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Overview: In recent years, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was the most direct terrorism threat to Panama due to its use of the Darién region of Panama as a staging ground, a rest and recuperation point, and a rearming locale. With limited but consistent U.S. training assistance, Panamanian authorities have substantially eliminated the FARC's ability to operate in the Darién. The conclusion of the Colombian Peace Process with the FARC further reduced the FARC threat in the Darién region.
The Darién region remained a significant and growing pathway for human smuggling. In 2016, Panamanian authorities detained more than 20,000 migrants attempting to or having entered Panama illegally from Colombia; African, South Asian, and Middle Eastern individuals represented a small portion of the overall migrant flow. During the year, Panamanian authorities worked with U.S. authorities to detain and repatriate individuals for whom there were elevated suspicions of links to potential terrorism.
Panama is one of two countries in the hemisphere that joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Panama participates in the Defeat-ISIS Coalition's Counter-ISIS Finance Group. Panamanian officials repeatedly reiterated Panama's support for the work of the Coalition.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Panama has comprehensive counterterrorism legislation and a robust counterterrorism legal framework. Title IX, Chapter 1 of the Panamanian criminal code criminalizes acts of terrorism. Individuals who attempt to disturb the public peace, cause panic, terror, or fear in the population, or a subset thereof, through the use of radioactive materials, weapons, fire, explosives, biological or toxic substances, or any other means of massive destruction or element with that potential, are subject to prison sentences ranging from 20 to 30 years. Panamanian law also sanctions any individual who knowingly finances, grants, hides, or transfers money, goods, or other financial resources for use in the commission of the above referenced crimes to a period of confinement ranging from 25 to 30 years in prison. Those who use the internet to recruit terrorists or to provide bomb-making instructions are subject to confinement of five to 10 years.
The Government of Panama maintains counterterrorism units within the National Border Service, the National Air-Naval Service, the Panamanian National Police (PNP), Panama's National Security Council, and the Institutional Protection Service, which is responsible for the protection of Panamanian and foreign dignitaries. Short-term, multi-agency task forces have improved inter-service coordination, cooperation, and information sharing, but the country does not have a formal coordinating authority below the Cabinet level.
Panama is a critical financial, transportation, and logistics hub, and the Panama Canal remains its most-critical infrastructure asset. Panama does not maintain a national control list of dual-use goods, and legal interpretations limit the government's ability to analyze and inspect cargo transshipping or transiting the country, including dual-use items.
A key focus of counterterrorism efforts in Panama has been securing its land borders as well as the airports and seaports throughout the country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continued to cooperate with Panamanian authorities at Tocumen International Airport, and has been successful using the linkage between Panama's Advance Passenger Information (API) System and CBP targeting systems. Panama collected nearly 100 percent of API data and actively seeks complete Passenger Name Record (PNR) data. Panama continued to seek agreements with regional partners to enhance API and PNR data, as well as associated migration and criminal derogatory information, to enhance regional security. CBP continued to work with Panamanian authorities to improve its capacity to capture and transmit all API and PNR data. Mobile security teams, including those operating under the CBP Joint Security Program, partner with host country law enforcement officers operating in Tocumen International Airport to identify air passengers linked to terrorism. Panamanian authorities began to screen travelers using a state-of the-art border management system, which has been integrated with existing technologies employed by the Panamanian government to secure national borders.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Panama is a member of the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. Panama's financial intelligence unit, Unidad de Analisis Financiero (Financial Analysis Unit), is a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. On July 19, 2016, by Executive Decree 324, Panama created an Antiterrorism Department within the National Security Council responsible for coordinating Panama's counterterrorist financing efforts as well as tracking and coordinating responses to UN Security Council (UNSC) designations. In the same decree, Panama created a new Committee for the Prevention of Terrorism and Terrorist financing responsible for reviewing relevant information to determine whether individuals or entities warrant nomination for inclusion on the UNSC ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime sanctions list or if they should be included in Panama's domestic list of terrorists and terrorist financiers. The Committee distributes the lists of the designated individuals and entities electronically. Panama has yet to identify and freeze assets belonging to terrorists or sanctioned individuals and organizations. It has also not prosecuted any terrorist financing cases.
Panama criminalized terrorist financing under multiple laws passed in 2015. Panamanian law permits the freezing, seizure, and confiscation of the instruments and proceeds of criminal enterprises, including money laundering and terrorist financing. Implementing regulations allow for the freezing of assets of persons or entities listed under UN Sanctions regimes, including UNSC ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime. It does not; however, provide for the confiscation of property of corresponding value and the application of other measures.
A division of the Ministry of Economy and Finance supervises money transfer services and remittance houses including businesses in the Colon Free Trade Zone, Panama's Diamond and Jewelry Exchange, casinos, money exchangers, real estate brokers, auto dealerships, and other entities. While there is no requirement for non-profit organizations to file suspicious transaction reports, the government does monitor them for suspicious transactions and requires the collection of Know Your Customer data for wire transfers.
For additional information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Countering Violent Extremism: Panama's principal security initiative, "Barrios Seguros con Más Oportunidades y Mano Firme" (Safe Communities with More Opportunities and a Firm Hand), aims to reduce gang crime and criminality by focusing on vulnerable areas with serious gang problems and by disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating those gang members into the community. The three-part program includes providing vocational and life skills training (including a religious education component) to reintegrate former gang members, expanding preventative and community policing, and doubling the size of specialized anti-gang units tasked with dismantling the upper echelons of criminal organizations operating in Panama. Panama is in the process of reviewing the program to enhance its ability to target at-risk individuals and communities, and to better respond to the concerns of the populace.
International and Regional Cooperation: Panama is an active participant in UN and regional security initiatives such as the Organization of American States' Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism. Panama and Colombia maintain a bilateral commission that meets on an annual basis to address topics of mutual concern, including illicit migration, narco-trafficking, transnational criminal organizations, and elements of the FARC operating in the region surrounding the shared border.