Page 35 - Anatomy-of-a-Fraud

(ADO), de la Espriella was dropped and vanished –figuratively and literally– from the
national political scene. Some days later La Prensa managed to obtain a copy of his
letter of resignation, which it published on its front page. It is a document simply
reading: “I resign the office of…” as if the presidency of the republic were just another
job. The letter is eloquently brief and besides, seems suspiciously prefabricated. See
exhibit 1.

Exit Ricardo de la Espriella. Enter Jorge Illueca.

On February 17, Jorge Illueca, Panama’s third president in as many years,
appointed his new cabinet. “Its partisan make-up and the little confidence the
4
qualifications and probity of some its members inspire bode ill for Panama”. Actually,
Illueca had appointed those he had been told to appoint, among them “virtuosi of the
5
stealing of ballot boxes and the buying of votes”.

E. The “Eighth Candidate”

Eight candidates are running in the 1984 presidential elections in Panama
although, officially, the people will choose from only among seven. The eighth
candidate is Noriega, who is now on a campaign tour. This is how the campaign was
described by Dr. Carmen Miró, candidate for first vice president of the United People
Front (FREPU), at the CADE 84 meeting held on April 6.

This original description of Noriega was motivated by the fact that the general
was behaving exactly like a presidential candidate. Noriega visited the entire country
during the campaign months, accompanied by a large entourage and using airplanes,
helicopters and all imaginable sorts of means of transportation. He criticized the
government and the opposition; made promises; kissed children and old folks; gave
away machetes, toys, and flashlights; asked for solutions and demanded the presence
of the president and his ministers. All of this was the subject of a heavy advertising
barrage from government-controlled media.

Occasionally, Nicky, as Barletta is known, would visit communities where
Noriega had campaigned, two or three days after the general’s prodigal visits. The
ground had been fertilized; the message, planted. Barletta is the “man”.

Noriega attended county fairs: David, on March 19; Los Santos, on April 28.
On April 13, a few days away from the elections, he organized and financed an
elaborate demonstration in the city of Panamá, ostensibly in support of the Armed
Forces but actually in support of the governments’ campaign.

4 La Prensa, “Hoy por Hoy”, February 17, 1984, page 1A.
5 Ibid.