COLOMBIAN GUERRILLAS, DRUG TRAFFICKERS POSE A THREAT BEYOND COUNTRY'S BORDERS

Amid fears of a growing spillover of Colombia's armed conflict into Panama,
Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru, the bishop of a Panamanian jungle province on
the border with Colombia says the problem is already much worse than
governments are willing to admit.

Monsignor Romulo Emiliani, the Roman Catholic bishop of Panama's border
state of Darien, told me in a telephone interview this week that Colombian
guerrillas, arms dealers and drug traffickers have turned his sparsely
populated region into a safe haven where Panamanian security forces don't
dare to enter.

Emiliani left Panama a few weeks ago, following death threats presumed to
have come from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or their
allies in the drug business. He is now in a U.S. city, which he asked me
not to identify.

``Governments always seek to portray the image that everything is under
control, because they fear that saying otherwise would scare off foreign
investors,'' the bishop said. ``But the fact is, the situation is serious.''

FARC rebels and right-wing paramilitary forces are moving freely in an area
stretching from the border to nearly 50 miles inside Panama, an area that
is almost inaccessible by land because there are no roads.

Until recently, Emiliani visited the area by canoe, on horseback or walking.

``They come and go, buying food, weapons, everything they need,'' the
bishop said. ``They pay with drugs, and the drugs stay in Central America.''

In addition to ``infecting'' Darien with drugs and the corruption stemming
from drug and arms trafficking, the presence of FARC rebels is prompting
hit-and-run attacks by Colombia's paramilitary groups into Panamanian
territory.

The violence is resulting in growing numbers of Colombian refugees moving
into Panama.

In recent months, about 600 Colombians have sought refuge on the Panamanian
side of the border, and there are reports that about 2,000 are about to
move in coming weeks, Emiliani said.

Emiliani wants the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to help deal
with the refugees, but says the Panamanian government has failed to make an
official request so far.

Like most Panamanians, the bishop says he doesn't want U.S. military
involvement in Panama.

What he wants is international help to arm and train Panama's police, so
that the Panamanian government can reassert its control over Darien.

While President Mireya Moscoso of Panama is more willing to admit the
problem than her predecessor was, the government still refuses to request
international support, the bishop says.

In addition, he wants Panama to devote more resources to Darien, a
long-forgotten area, to keep drug and arms trafficking from becoming its
people's main source of income.

Is he exaggerating the situation?

Nobody seems to dispute that the FARC rebels have been coming and going in
Darien for the past 30 years. And Emiliani's statements are not taken
lightly by U.S. and European diplomats.

The good news is that a recent Gallup poll in Panama revealed that 62
percent of the Panamanian people consider Darien to be the country's
biggest security problem. Perhaps the government -- and authorities in
neighboring countries -- will soon see it the same way and get involved in
a regional peace effort to solve Colombia's war.