Focus on Diminished Ability of Panama Government in Combatting Illicit Transnational Narcotics and Related Activities

A recent GAO report on narcotics control efforts in Panama has asserted that drug related activity in Panama may have actually increased since the end of Operation Just Cause which removed government leader Manuel Noriega from power.  The statements have been widely reported in the press, causing the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to hold hearings on the status of Panamanian and U.S. efforts to control drug trafficking and money laundering in Panama.