|
|
Article: Colombia and its neighbours - Nervous in Darien.(conditions in Colombia cause citizens to flee or move to Panama)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 7, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
PANAMA CITY
Panama has cause to worry about Colombia's troubles, but sees some silver linings too. The last report in our series
"WE have no army and we do not intend to have one," says Winston Spadafora, Panama's interior minister. "Our strength is our neutrality." Feeble though this may seem, unarmed neutrality may indeed be Panama's least bad bet, both in resisting any dangerous overspill from Colombia's wars, and even in profiting from them.
But that policy has some persuasive critics. Panama's 270km (170 mile) border with Colombia, threaded through the thick jungles of the Darien Gap, can readily be crossed by Colombian guerrillas, ...