Martinelli, the Darien and the Panama Canal

I wrote an article for the Narco News Bulletin now that Panama has joined the Colombian war against the FARC. And I just noticed that the Venezuelan publication Patria Grande has made the effort to translate the story in Spanish and run it too!

By Okke Ornstein

Okke Ornstein is from the Netherlands where he worked for about 15 years in the wonderful world of television and radio before accidentally moving to Panama. Since then, he has been chased by gangsters and many unsuccessful attempts have been made to shut him up, have him thrown out of the country, or in jail for crimes against the honor. He published The Noriegaville News and Bananama Republic for some years (an award winning combination of investigative journalism, satire, analysis and opinion) until threats were getting out of hand and he closed it down - if the sites weren't hacked already. His written work in English can be found in publications ranging from The Narco News Bulletin to NewsMax - for the latter he dodged sniper fire and car bombs in Kabul, among other things. None of this has stopped him from briefly becoming a consultant for the election campaign of Miguel Antonio Bernal, a well known human rights activist who runs for mayor of Panama City. Ornstein continues to work as a journalist for publications in and outside of Panama, is writing a book, works as a consultant on media, real estate and sustainable development and runs a new publication called The Isthmian.

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I wrote an article for the Narco News Bulletin now that Panama has joined the Colombian war against the FARC. Read it here.

And I just noticed that the Venezuelan publication “Patria Grande” has made the effort to translate the story in Spanish and run it too:

“Atentos observadores ya veían venir esto cuando Panamá anunció que construiría 11 “bases que lucharían contra el narcotráfico” y que supuestamente se compondrían de personal local: El gobierno del barón del supermercado Ricardo Martinelli está en el curso firme de arrastrar al país a un conflicto armado entre, por un lado el gobierno colombiano y sus aliados y por el otro la guerrilla de las FARC . El pretexto no es solamente el habitual combate a los narcóticos, sino que los panameños están diciendo abiertamente que quieren combatir a los insurgentes colombianos en la zona fronteriza.

Como la versión oficial dice, un pequeño grupo de miembros de las FARC fue descubierto el 27 de enero en la frontera del río Tuira cerca de Boca de Cupe, que está a aproximadamente a un día de camino desde el campamento que las FARC mantiene o mantenía en la zona fronteriza. La fronteriza, unidad especial fronteriza de la Policía Nacional, les ordenó detenerse, lo que la guerrilla no hizo. Luego, la policía abrió fuego, matando a tres y capturando a otros dos. Hasta ahora no se ha identificado a los muertos. El área ha estado cerrada para los periodistas, así que puede que nunca sepamos lo que en verdad pasó.”

The rest is here!

Moving up in the world, I guess…..

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Okke Ornstein can be reached by email at okke@ornstein.org

Phone Panama: +507 6563 7475

Phone the Netherlands: +31 30 8903456

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