PANAMA BUREAU EMERGENCY COVERAGE PLAN UPDATE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP94-00798R000200150029-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: April 2, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

? Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/10: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200150029-8
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FOREIGe. BROADCAST INFORMATION SEriVICE
P.O. Box 2604
Washington, D.C. 20013
MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Panama Bureau
FROM
Chief, Monitoring Operations Division
SUBJECT Panama Bureau Emergency Coverage Plan Update
REFERENCES A. MHQ-5023 -- Request for Emergency Coverage Plans
B. WA231538 Jan 86 -- Service: Emergency Coverage
Updates ?
C. PA242044 Jan 86 -- Service: Panama Emergency
Coverage Plan.
D. Panama Bureau Operational Directive 85-20 --
Dedicated Circuit Usage -- 4 December 1985
E. PY061710 Feb 86 -- Service: Paraguay Emergency
Plan Updates (2)
MHQ-6043
2 April 1986
1. Attached is the updated emergency coverage plan for Panama
Bureau. The update is based on Panama's 25 June 1985 Plan, and
incorporates the changes suggested in Ref C. In addition, an
appendix detailing the remote contrators and systems used for
Panama's coverage of El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and
Honduras has been attached. It is hoped that this will
facilitate emergency contacts of those contractors, should this
be necessary. Bureaus' comments and corrections are solicited.
2. MOD will be adhering to the 6-month update schedule for these
plans, as stated in Ref A. Accordingly, the next update of this
plan will be due in October 1986. Panama Bureau may wirefile
suggested updates at that time.
Attachment:
PA Emergency Coverage Plan
Distribution:
Ch/PA (Original)
Ch/PY (1)
Ch/FL (1)
Ch/WSS (1)
MOD Files (PLAN 10-2)(2)
Registry (1)
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2 April 1986
PANAMA BUREAU EMERGENCY COVERAGE PLAN
In the event of interruption of Panama Bureau operations, and
subject to changes depending on the situation at the time:
1. KEY WEST Bureau would take (Class A coverage underlined):
AL Havana PRENSA LATINA in English (radioteletype)
Havana International Service in Spanish
Managua Radio Sandino in Spanish
Managua International Service in Spanish/English
Managua Domestic Service in spanish
(Clandestine) Radio Venceremos in Spanish to El Salvador
(Clandestine) Radio Farabundo Marti in Spanish to El Salvador
San Jose Radio Reloj in Spanish
San Jose Radio Impacto in Spanish
(All listed transmitters are audible at Key West Bureau)
Commercial telephone feeds of voice/newspaper material from
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. (See
Appendix A)
B. Additional personnel required: 3 editors, 10 monitors, 3
teletypists.
C. Additional equipment required: 5 complete monitoring
set-ups (several multicouplers will be required) and 2 complete
teletype setups.
2. PARAGUAY Bureau would take (Class A coverage underlined):
A. Paris AFP in Spanish (landline) (It is quite possible
that the AFP Spanish beam at Paraguay Bureau will differ from
the AFP beam monitored at Panama.)
Madrid EFE in Spanish (landline)
Bogota Radio Santa Fe in Spanish (PY's reception is seasonal)
Bogota Radio Sutatenza in Spanish (PY reception seasonal)
Quito Voz de los Andes in Spanish
San Cristobal Ecos del Torbes in Spanish (member of the Radio
Rumbos Network -- PY reception seasonal)
CONFIDENTim
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(All listed shortwave transmitters are audible at Paraguay
Bureau, but some reception deteriorates seasonally)
B. Additional personnel required: Two monitors.
C. Additional equipment required: None.
3. LOSSES would include (Class A coverage underlined):
A. Coverage of Buenos Aires REUTER and Hamburg DPA
Spanish-language casts (landline subscriptions; no alternate
arrangements possible).
B. All satellite coverage -- television and press agency
transmissions. All satellites involved in Panama's ROSET
coverage are also observable via London Bureau's ROSET. The
London ROSET is already heavily comitted to Class A coverage and
would probably be unable to pick up any of Panama's satellite
coverage.
C. Mexican coverage: Mexican television monitored from
Panama's ROSET would be lost, as would field coverage of the
Mexican press. Key West's coverage of Mexico City NOT1MEX and
ELAAD's coverage of Mexican newspapers would not be affected.
D. Panamanian coverage: Depending on the local situation,
arrangements could possibly be made to feed Panama City voice and
newspaper material to Key West via commercial telephone lines.
Panama City ACM items are carried under an EFE sourceline on
Paraguay Bureau's landline subscription.
E. AFP English coverage: No backstop arrangement is included
for Panama's coverage of AFP English (Africabeams) Class A
worldwide alert function, which is provided for separately under
agreement with all participating AFP bureaus.
4. ALTERNATIVES AND UNCERTAINTIES:
A. Panama Bureau's Class A Coverage -- by definition --
is limited to Havana International Service's major daily newscast
at 0000-0050 GMT, and to coverage of Paris AFP, Madrid EFE/Panama
City ACM, and Buenos Aires REUTER during the bureau's regularly
scheduled hours of operation. An anomaly in this regard that
must be considered in any backstop arrangement involves Panama's
coverage of vitally important Central American media. Because of
highly variable reception, frequent power outages and
communications problems at our Central America remote sites, and
our inability to cover the major newscasts live with a regular
and reasonable degree of certainty, Panama's coverage of
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala has had to be
designated as Class B in accordance with MOD guidelines.
Obviously, the importance of the media in those Central American
countries is such that they must be included in any backstop
coverage arrangements.
CptiFincN Ti A
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B. At the insistence of Key West and Paraguay Bureaus,
all of Panama's Central American coverage is centralized at Key
West Bureau in this backstop plan. If, however, the resultant
load proves too much for Key West's resources -- and in
particular for its communications facilities -- some of the
Central American coverage received via commercial telephone feeds
may have to be shifted to Paraguay Bureau.
5. VULNERABILITY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRIC POWER:
CONFIDENTIN
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