Taking Note
MF
Challenge and Opportunity GUILLERMO UNGO PULLED MY ELBOW AS he spoke. "You have no right to close your doors. Your work is too important. I don't care how little money you have." The president...
...FROM PANAMA TO HONDURAS, THROUGH Nicaragua and El Salvador, even the mainstream press admits the failure of Reagan policies...
...politics...
...intelligence mafia, the Pentagon's desire to stay in Panama beyond the end of their lease in the year 2000 and long-term calculations on "stability...
...We will soon be moving to our new offices...
...Adelante...
...John Kerry-exchair of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War-calling for military intervention...
...In this moment of superpower rapprochement, when the communist demon no longer inspires sufficient fear, the "narco-terrorist" has emerged as the prime generator of consensus for foreign wars...
...And it's not simply that the Republicans need a "victory" before election day...
...riots erupting in Honduras (no surprise to readers of our last Report), Administration policy makers must be anxious to turn the mess over to the Democrats...
...and 3) the most probable, Haiti, not the flight of the dictator, but an irreversible descent into the depths of poverty...
...Narco-politics is a dangerous game we may see applied to any number of countries in the coming years...
...The Administration has used it quite skillfully to build a bipartisan consensus for intervention and continued military presence in Panama, curiously similar to the Right's Panama agenda ever since Carter "lost" the Canal in 1977...
...Noriega-until a few short months ago a trusted ally-must have sent shockwaves through both the contra leadership and the Honduran military, each already leery of the passing of the Reagan era...
...We are past the crisis, and to stay past it we will continue counting on you...
...UR FISCAL CRISIS DID FORCE US TO DElay publication of the current Report...
...2) Central America, or interminable "low intensity" war...
...A man even called from solitary confinement in a federal penitentiary to offer his assistance...
...In what nightmare would we have ever expected to see a liberal like Sen...
...No matter how dutifully dictators, mercenaries and assorted thugs perform the Empire's bidding, Washington can turn on them suddenly and seemingly without reason...
...You, our readers, contributed just over $100,000, most of it in small donations...
...But as these have been busy months on Chile's political scene, we took advantage of the opportunity to incorporate the most recent developments into this Report...
...With the contras talking peace behind Reagan's back, the Salvadorean Right winning at the polls, Panamanian strongman Noriega refusing to obey orders, and antiU.S...
...More than narcotics, it involved such factors as power struggles within the U.S...
...We apologize for this inconvenience...
...Thanks to all of you, we made it...
...One tenet of the Right's worldview seemed to be confirmed by recent events in Panama: there is no honor among thieves...
...But the United States' decision to dump their longtime intelligence asset in Panama was neither simple nor arbitrary...
...Since we sent out our missive of distress in February, we have received calls and letters from around the world-Peru, the Netherlands, Mexico, Canada, Denmark-and all parts of the United States repeating the same concern...
...In Panama there is talk of three possible scenarios: 1) Puerto Rico, that is, annexation by conquest...
...Not only will we be in an excellent location, but the move will save us a considerable sum of money...
...With your help, we'll never have to declare an emergency again...
...The president of El Salvador's Democratic Revolutionary Front is not alone...
...policy in the Hemisphere...
...For those of us on the staff and board your vote of confidence implies a great responsibility, a challenge and an opportunity: the responsibility to continue offering the in-depth critical coverage NACLA has provided for over 21 years, the challenge to do this within the restrictions of today's economy and the opportunity to contribute our part toward changing U.S...
...Again, mil gracias por su apoyo...
...However, the furor over Panama in the Congress and the press does tell us something about U.S...
...Elliott Abrams' bungling attempts to overthrow Gen...
...As Argentine journalist and scholar Gregorio Selser will argue in an upcoming NACLA Report, the Administration's professed concern about drug-trafficking should be given about as much credibility as its yearning for democracy...
...You have shown us that you know the importance of NACLA's work and that you are willing to provide the support Report on the Americas needs...
...Meanwhile, Washington's financial warfare has devastated the country's hopelessly dependent economy, perhaps irreparably so...
...Narco-politics" is what a Mexican analyst calls this political manipulation of our anxiety about the drug menace...
Vol. 22 • March 1988 • No. 2
