U.S. sees agreement with Panama on antidrug center

By Anthony Boadle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) The United States and Panama resumed talks Wednesday
on creating a multinational antidrug center that would allow U.S. troops
to remain after control over the canal passes to Panama at the end of 1999.

The State Department said negotiations had advanced but important
differences have yet to be ironed out.

``We are cautiously optimistic that an agreement can be reached, but there
are still some important questions that need to be worked out,'' State
Department spokesman James Rubin said at a daily news briefing.

``We are hoping to achieve an agreement by the end of the year,'' Rubin said.

Under Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs Thomas McNamara
is representing the United States at the talks, which will continue
Thursday in Washington.

U.S. officials said both countries believed the creation of a multinational
counternarcotics center would be mutually beneficial.

``The idea is to keep a counternarcotics presence in Panama, because the
U.S. bases there have been used for counternarcotics operations, and Panama
and other Latin American countries would like to see that go on,'' a State
Department spokesman said. ``It is merely a question of how that can be
construed and built,'' he added.

The initial idea of a multinational antidrug force has been discarded in
favor of a coordination center where intelligence on trafficking would be
shared and processed.

Another plan under discussion is creation of a separate academy for
training law enforcement agents from the entire region.

The participation of other Latin American nations in the antidrug center
would be worked out once agreement has been reached with Panama, U.S.
officials said.

Under the 1977 Panama Canal Treaties, the United States is to hand over
full operational control of the Panama Canal and to withdraw all its troops
from the country by Dec. 31, 1999.

U.S. officials have estimated it would take about 2,000 soldiers to run and
protect the antinarcotics center.

Following last month's withdrawal of the U.S. Southern Command to Miami,
less that 5,000 U.S. troops remain in Panama, mainly at Howard Air Force
Base and Fort Clayton.

Copyright 1997 Reuters