Is Martin Torrijos a narco?

Deafening silence by Panamanian mainstream media about file “too hot to handle.”

April 12, 2004

An extensive case file, dating back to 1985, was distributed April 6th among the Panamanian media. The contents (sworn statements, court records, correspondence between the various judicial authorities as well as the armed forces and the police) describe a case in which four Colombian narco traffickers came to Panama in an attempt to get back a shipment of 500 kilos of cocaine that had allegedly been stolen from them by Floyd Carlton and Teofilo Watson, both pilots of General Noriega at the time. In order to find Watson, they kidnapped his wife and several children. Several statements include PRD Presidential candidate Martin Torrijos as being involved in this kidnap. The names of the Colombians are Abelardo Camelo Cardenas, Diego Berrio Castaño, Dario Augusto Rua Alvares and Mario de Jesus Castro.

Apart from a little blurb in La Critica, all Panamanian media have maintained a strict omerta about the case for almost a week now.

In their attempts to recoup the lost cocaine shipment, the Colombians received the help of various Panamanians, among which Raul Mata Zuñiga and Dolando “Salsa” Flores, it is stated in the file.

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A summary of the case, which reads like a script of something between a thriller and a wild west movie, relates how on June 30st, 1985, this Colombian-Panamanian group grabbed the wife of Teofilo Watson, Judy Hidalgo de Watson, and her little daughter as well as two brothers, all minors. They were then taken to a private estate in Isla Verde where Judy de Watson was interrogated about the whereabouts of her husband. To emphasize the seriousness of the matter, they simulated the execution of Watson’s daughter outside while Judy de Watson was interrogated inside the house, firing a round of machine gunfire.

The kidnappers indicated to Mrs. Watson that they had powerful connections in Panama which included the son of General Omar Torrijos, Martin Torrijos. And indeed, when the kidnappers and their victims arrived at the estate, they met there with Eric Abrego and his wife, as well as with Martin Torrijos and his fiancé, says the summary.

Before arriving at the estate in Isla Verde however, the cars of the kidnappers got stuck in the mud, and Raul Mata Zuñiga went for help. He returned with Martin Torrijos’ car, a red Nissan Patrol. When after many efforts the cars were released from the mud, the group went to the house where they met with Martin Torrijos, Eric Abrego, and their company.

Torrijos and Abrega left shortly thereafter, and were not present during the interrogation and when the shots were fired, according to several statements in the file.

Later on, the victims were released by their kidnappers who then continued their search in Chiriqui for the two pilots Floyd Carlton and Teofilo Watson. However, this time the Colombians were captured, by the police, for not carrying documents and locked up in the police station of David, the capital of Chiriqui.

Enters the scene Martin Torrijos again. According to testimony by Raul Mata Zuñiga and Agustin Bedoya, Torrijos actively participated in efforts to get the four Colombians released, by making for example phone calls to a Mr. Romulo Abad, who was a good friend of mayor Cordoba of David.

According to the statement given by Major Augustin Bedoya Garcia, the Panamanian side of the whole group knew each other well, and would frequent the house of Martin Torrijos, conversing about subjects such as “how is the operation going,” “how is the estate doing,” and how business was going.

One of the Colombians, Abelardo Camelo Cardenas, was convicted in 1993 in Costa Rica on drug trafficking charges.
The case file also contains a sworn statement by Martin Torrijos himself. In that statement, which directly contradicts various other statements of those involved, Torrijos admits that he lend his Nissan Patrol and later arranged for a tractor to release the kidnappers’ cars from the mud, but denies to have been involved in any other way with the kidnappers and their efforts.

It is unclear why the Panamanian mainstream media have so far refused to pay attention to the case or at least make the documents available. As a result, this web site is the only place where you can find some of the documents: