MONTHLY REPORT -- PANAMA BUREAU -- MAY 1986

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87-01104R000100120008-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 22, 2012
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: June 5, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/22 : CIA-RDP87-01104R000100120008-1
FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
PANAMA BUREAU
DRAWER 927
APO MIAMI 34004
5 June 1986
MPA-6014
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH : Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT : Monthly Report -- Panama Bureau - May 1986
Panama Bureau hosted three distinguished BBC visitors in May. Mr.
Eric Bowman, general manager of the BBC Monitoring Service; Mr. Godfrey
Offord, head of the BBC Reception Department on the Monitoring Side; and
Mr. Henry Pavlovich, editor of the BBC News and Publications Side visited
Panama while returning to London from the annual FBIS-BBC coordination
meeting held in Washington, D.C. During their 2-day visit, the three
guests toured the bureau and received briefings on all aspects of,current
operations. The bureau's Central American remote operation and ROSET
satellite coverage received special attention. Sightseeing tours to Old
Panama, the Panama Canal, and historic spots around Panama City were on
the agenda as was dining on Panama's renowned seafood in some area
retaurants. The visit concluded with a small dinner party hosted by the
acting chief and
Through the good offices of the Honorable Arthur H. Davis, Jr., U.S.
Ambassador to Panama, the bureau submitted two requests for frequency
allocation to the Panamanian Government:
-On 2 May the embassy received the bureau application for frequency
allocation for our INTERNET send and receive satellite communications
system; On 16 May the embassy presented a formal diplomatic note
accompanying the application to the Panamanian Foreign Ministry.
-On 21 May the embassy received the bureau application for frequency
allocation for our planned Motorola microwave communications system; On 30
May the embassy presented a formal diplomatic note accompanying the
application to the Panamanian Foreign Ministry.
To prepare for construction and installation of the bureau's INTERNET
facility, nine construction projects were begun during the month. At
month's end, all local preparations were completed and the bureau was
awaiting the arrival of a contractor who would begin actual site
preparation and construction.
STAT
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A. Editorial/Monitorial
Peace negotiations in Central America, and the inauguration of
one Latin American president and the election of two others headlined the
news in Panama Bureau's coverage area in May.
In Costa Rica, President-elect Oscar Arias assumed the presidency
in a 2-hour and 47-minute ceremony that the bureau covered live from San
Jose Radio Reloj. In his inaugural address, Oscar Arias reiterated Costa
Rica's "commitment to defend and strengthen peace and neutrality." Arias
also underscored his country's support for the Contradora group,
confirming his readiness to sign a Central American peace document on 6
June in Panama City.
On May 10 the bureau began to monitor news agency reports
indicating that several ARDE leaders had withdrawn their support for Eden
Pastora, and were preparing to join another contra group. In the
following days, additional reports emerged alleging that Pastora was about
to lay down his arms for the last time; he surrendered formally to Costa
Rican authorities at the Nicaraguan border on 16 May. In a brief news
conference given on the same day, and reported by the ACAN news agency,
Pastora said that he was withdrawing "from the armed struggle because we
believe there is no possibility of achieving a military victory."
In the Dominican Republic, the presidential elections began on 16
May. The election developed as a race between Jacobo Majluta, the
candidate of the ruling Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), and Joaquin
Balaguer, of the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC). Although no
major incidents of violence were reported during the elections, the vote
count was marred by accusations of fraud and the resignation of important
officials of the Central Electoral Board. The final results were not
confirmed until 27 May, when Balaguer announced his victory and Majluta
conceded defeat.
The 2-day summit of the Central American presidents began in
Esquipulas, Guatemala, on 24 May. Organized by Guatemalan President
Vinicio Cerezo, the summit was attended, in addition to Cerezo, by the
presidents of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Tension
flared during the summit between Costa Rica's Oscar Arias and Nicaragua's
Daniel Ortega over Arias' refusal to sign the final summit communique
unless wording to the effect that all the participating heads of state had
been freely elected was changed. In the final document that was signed,
and which Cerezo read over Guatemala radio on 25 May, the five presidents
agreed to continue the Contadora process, formally create a Central
American parliament, and advance "processes for the economic and social
integration of the area."
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Efforts continued during the month to bring to a successful
conclusion the Contadora group's efforts in Central America. Meetings
were held between representatives of the Central American countries with
their Contadora counterparts on 16-18 May, and again on 27-28 May, in an
effort to resolve the remaining part of the agreement dealing with
military issues. Several new proposals were presented. A plan announced
by Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega on 26 May outlined 14 military
matters that Managua would be willing to regulate or negotiate. Little or
no progress in the negotiations was made, however, and the most recent
Contadora session ended without concrete results.
In Colombia on 25 May, Liberal Party candidate Virgilio Barco
easily defeated his closest challenger, Conservative Party candidate
Alvaro Gomez in the presidential elections. Panama Bureau filed several
reports from Bogota Television Service providing preliminary election
results as well as Barco's declaration of victory speech on the night of
25 May
On 31 May the bureau monitored French Overseas Television broadcasting
an Ariane rocket launch from Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket's third
stage failed to ignite and the rocket and its onboard satellites were
destroyed some 200 kilometers into the flight. A VSL was filed and a
videorecording of the event was sent to headquarters.
B. Communications
On 21 May, USAISC Panama officially requested that FBIS Panama
rehome its AUTODIN Mode V circuit B-024 on a "tone-pack" to Fort Detrick.
FBIS Headquarters began the telecommunications service request on the
bureau's behalf and proposed a switchover date of 7 July.
Also in May, headquarters advised that approval and funding was
received for a second microwave channel to connect the bureau at Chiva
Chiva with the American Embassy in Panama City via a repeater station on
Ancon Hill. The bureau would use this system as its primary
communications link. The American Embassy was asked to present the
frequency allocation application to the Panamanian Foreign Ministry. The
application was delivered to the Panamanian Government on 30 May. The
Panamanian communications office INTEL was advised of the bureau's plans
to realign its major communications circuits via the embassy. INTEL
officials were very helpful and no significant problems with a switchover
are foreseen.
C. Lateral Services
At the request of the U.S. Southern Command in Panama, in May the
bureau began providing SOUTHCOM Treaty Affairs Office with a videotape of
the 1 and 1/2 hour Sunday morning program "Everything for the Fatherland"
monitoired from Panamanian television. Air Force Colonel Pat Corbett, the
deputy chief of staff for Treaty Affairs, expressed his gratitude for the
special services provided by FBIS. It was mentioned that FBIS
headquarters had inquired about our obtaining some aerial photography of
the Panama Bureau facility and ROSET antennas. Col. Corbett arranged for a
helicopter flyover and photographs of the FBIS operations area in late
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May. We expect to receive the prints and negatives in early June. The
photos and the negatives will be pouched to the Chief, FED upon receipt.
On 29 May, the bureau provided Colonel Paul Morgan, G-2 of the
193rd Infantry Brigade, with English and Spanish language versions of the
Nicaraguan and FSLN anthems. Col. Morgan said the request was for a
speech being prepared for Major General James Taylor, commanding general
193rd Infantry Brigade.
D. Technical
During the month, the following accountable property was
received:
One five-channel teletype timer, S.T. Research Model TTP-5 5060
HZ Serial No. 86001. Unit Price: $4,950.00
A. Personnel
from FBN-12/4 to 12/
N-6/1 to 6/2;
g employees received PSI's during Mayo
from FBN-5/1 to 5/2;
from FBN-3/1 to 3/2.
At a ceremony on 30 May federal service pins were awarded to the
following bureau employees:
25 Years
20 Years
20 Years
10 Years
Senior Editor departed Panama 12 May en route to home
leave and reassignment as deputy bureau chief in Amman, Jordan.
Editorial trainee
3-month TDY.
departed Panama on 9 May after a
B. Building and Grounds
During May, bureau contractors completed the following projects:
Cedeno and Choy-removed and relocated underground utilities in
the area where the INTERNET antenna pad will be sited; constructed a new
door in the bureau chief's office; and removed the double chain-link
security fence from along the entire east side of the operations building.
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constructed a 300-foot drainage ditch conduit
of concrete in the ROSET/INTERNET antenna field; and resodded
approximately 2000 meters of the ROSET/INTERNET antenna field.
Chief, FSB/FED, visited from 5 to 8 May to examine
and site Panama Bureau's future INTERNET facility.
From 9 to 12 May the bureau was visited by BBC officials returning to
London from the annual FBIS-BBC Coordination Meeting that was held in
Washington, D.C. The BBC officials were: Mr. Eric Bowman, general
manager of the BBC Monitoring Service; Mr. Godfrey Offord, head of the BBC
Reception Department on the Monitoring Side; and Mr. Henry Pavlovich,
editor of the BBC News and Publications Side.
On 9 May four members of the Linguist Team of the 142d MI (LING)
Battalion, of the Utah National Guard, were briefed on bureau operations.
This visit was one of the continuing series of briefings offered by the
bureau to various National Guard units at the special request of the G-2
at the 193d Infantry Brigade on Fort Clayton.
Attachment:
Production Report
Acting Chief, Panama Bureau
STAT
STAT
STAT
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Panama Bureau Production Report for May 1986
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTHi 517700
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTHt 20000
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTHs 1354
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
Ii. INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE t 11715.00 90870.00 212.00
(minutes or issues per week) min. min. issues
III. OUTPUT FROM ALL SOURCES:
(publishable words per month)
ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires REUTER in
Spanish
Buenos Aires REUTER in
English
CHILE
Santiago Television Service in
Spanish
CLANDESTINES
Clandestine Radio Farabundo Marti in
Spanish to El Salvador
Clandestine Radio Venceremos in
Spanish to El Salvador
COLOMBIA
Bogota Cadena Radial Super in
Spanish 1410
Bogota Domestic Service in
Spanish 0
Bogota Emisoras Caracol Network in
Spanish 3130
Bogota Television Service in
Spanish 7000
Bogota REUTER in
Spanish
Bogota REUTER in
English
Bogota EL SIGLO in
Spanish
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Bogota EL TIEMPO in
Spanish
COSTA RICA
San Jose Radio Impacto in
Spanish
San Jose Radio Reloj in
Spanish
San Jose LA NACION in
Spanish
San Jose LA PRENSA LIBRE in
Spanish
San Jose LA REPUBLICA in
Spanish
San Jose LIBERTAD REVOLUCIONARIA in
Spanish
San Jose LIBERTAD in
Spanish
San Jose RUMBO CENTROAMERICANO in
Spanish
5590
4900
2940
CUBA
Havana International Service in
Quechua 390
Havana International Service in
Spanish 57800
Havana Radio Rebelde Network in
Spanish 1840
Havana EFE in
Spanish 630
Havana PRENSA LATINA in
English 4910
Havana PRENSA LATINA in
Spanish 7970
ECUADOR
Quito Radio Quito in
Spanish
Quito Voz de los Andes in
Spanish
Quito REUTER in
Spanish
Quito REUTER in
English
EL SALVADOR
San Salvador Canal Dace Television in
Spanish
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
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BROAD- PRESS
CASTS AGENCIES
PUBLI-
CATIONS
San
Salvador
Spanish
Channel 2 Television in
670
San
Salvador
Spanish
Domestic Service in
0
San
Salvador
Spanish
La Vez Panamericana in
1320
San
Salvador
Spanish
Radio Cadena Sonora in
1210
San
Salvador
Spanish
Radio Cadena YSKL in
7190
San
Salvador
Spanish
Radio Cadena YSU in
6070
San
Salvador
Spanish
Television Educativa in
5720
San
San
San
Salvador
Spanish
Salvador
Spanish
Salvador
Spanish
DIARIO LATINO in
EL DIARIO DE HOY in
EL MUNDO in
260
San
Salvador
Spanish
EL TIEMPO in
0
San
Salvador
Spanish
LA PRENSA GRAFICA in
1130
San
Salvador
Spanish
PROCESO in
0
San
Salvador
English
THE NEWS GAZETTE in
FRANCE
Paris AFP in
English
Paris AFP in
Spanish
GERMANY
Hamburg DPA in
Spanish
GUATEMALA
Guatemala City Cadena de Emisoras
Unidas in
Spanish
8710
Guatemala City Domestic Service in
Spanish
4110
Guatemala City Radio Nuevo Mundo in
Spanish
130
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BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
Guatemala City Radio Television
Guatemala in
Spanish
3420
Guatemala City Super Radio in
Spanish
90
Guatemala City TELEONCE Television in
Spanish
0
Guatemala City EL GRAFICO in
Spanish
Guatemala City PRENSA LIBRE in
Spanish
HONDURAS
Tegucigalpa
Spanish
Cadena Audio Video in
10010
Tegucigalpa
Spanish
Domestic Service in
1320
Tegucigalpa
Spanish
Radio America in
1700
Tegucigalpa
Spanish
Televisora Hondurans in
2430
Tegucigalpa
Spanish
Voz de Honduras Network in
4780
San Pedro Sula LA PRENSA in
Spanish
1130
San Pedro Sula
Spanish
TIEMPO in
1830
Tegucigalpa EL
Spanish
HERALDO in
610
Tegucigalpa LA TRIBUNA in
Spanish
MEXICO
Mexico City XEW Television Network in
Spanish
Mexico City XHDF Television
Network in
Spanish
Mexico City CERIGUA in
Spanish
Mexico City ENFOPRENSA in
Spanish
Mexico City REUTER in
English
Mexico City REUTER in
Spanish
Mexico City EL DIA in
Spanish
1330
200
1430
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BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
Mexico City EL NACIONAL in
Spanish
560
Mexico City EL UNIVERSAL in
Spanish
1810
Mexico City EXCELSIOR in
Spanish
21730
Mexico City THE NEWS in
English
2220
Mexico City UNOMASUNO in
Spanish
1870
NICARAGUA
Managua International Service in
Spanish
9410
Managua Domestic Service in
Spanish
15000
Managua Radio Noticias in
Spanish
1540
Managua Radio Sandino in
Spanish
1980
Managua Sistema Sandinista Television
Network in
Spanish
4230
Managua ANN Diplomatic Information
Service in
Spanish
1630
Managua ANN
Spanish
in
14040
Managua PRENSA LATINA in
Spanish
3870
Managua SALPRESS-NOTISAL in
Spanish
280
Managua BARRICADA in
Spanish 15570
Managua EL NUEVO DIARIO in
Spanish 5540
Managua LA PRENSA in
Spanish 1790
PANAMA
Panama City Circuito RPC
Television in
Spanish 2100
Panama City Domestic Service in
Spanish 4210
Panama City Television Service in
Spanish 0
Panama City Televisora Nacional in
Spanish 8200
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Panama City ACAN in
Spanish
Panama City CRITICA in
Spanish
Panama City DIALOGO SOCIAL in
Spanish
Panama City EL SIGLO in
Spanish
Panama City EXTRA in
Spanish
Panama City LA ESTRELLA DE PANAMA in
Spanish
Panama City LA PRENSA in
Spanish
Panama City LA REPUBLICA DOMINICAL.in
Spanish
Panama City LA REPUBLICA in
Spanish
Panama City MATUTINO in
Spanish
Panama City OUIUBO GRAFICO in
Spanish
Panama City STAR AND HERALD in
English
Panama City THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC in
English
PERU
Lima Panamericana Television
Network in
Spanish
Lima Television Peruana in
Spanish
Lima REUTER in
English
Lima REUTER in
Spanish
SPAIN
Madrid EFE in
Spanish
USSR
Moscow TABS in
Spanish
VENEZUELA
Caracas Television Service in
Spanish
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
2070
0
3100
1970
9100
18290
3590
1790
1730
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BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
Caracas REUTER in
English
Caracas EL NACIONAL in
Spanish
Caracas EL UNIVERSAL in
Spanish
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PANAMA BUREAU PRODUCTION REPORT FOR MAY 1986 -- ANNEX
TOTALS FROM ROSET SOURCES:
ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires REUTER in
English
Buenos Aires REUTER in
Spanish
COLOMBIA
Bogota Television Service in
Spanish
Bogota REUTER in
English
7,000
1,280
CUBA
Havana PRENSA LATINA in
Spanish
7,970
Havana EFE in
Spanish
ECUADOR
Quito REUTER in
Spanish
GERMANY
Hamburg DPA in
Spanish
MEXICO
Mexico City XEW Television Network in
Spanish
2,100
Mexico City XHDF Television Network in
Spanish
11,810
Mexico City CERIGUA in
Spanish
1,330
Mexico City ENFOPRENSA in
Spanish
200
Mexico City REUTER in
English
1,430
NICARAGUA
Managua ANN Diplomatic Information Service in
Spanish
1,630
Managua ANN in
Spanish
14,040
Managua PRENSA LATINA in
Spanish
3,870
Managua SALPRESS-NOTISAL in
Spanish
280
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/22 : CIA-RDP87-01104R000100120008-1
PERU
Lima REUTER in
English
Lima REUTER in
Spanish
SPAIN
Madrid EFE in
Spanish
USSR
Moscow TASS in
Spanish
1,020
VENEZUELA
Caracas Television Service in
Spanish
5,300
Caracas REUTER in
English
2,150
TOTAL FOR MAY 1986
65,030
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