American Citizen Isaac Polanco Makes Complaints From Puerto Rico
#Panama - An American citizen, Isaac Polanco, who was allegedly linked to the attempted kidnapping of President Ricardo Martinelli in January 2010 said he suffered various abuses of his human rights, and among those responsible he mentioned the former director of the Direction of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) Javier Carrillo. In response, Carrillo, who now heads the National Migration Service, said that is totally false and it is an infamy from this person who committed several crimes during his stay in Panama. According to Carrilllo, this is American citizen is taking advantage of the fact that he is in Puerto Rico to tarnish the reputations of several people. (Telemetro)
Editor's Comment: OK, so Polanco pulled the trigger. I've spoken to him on several occasions. He called me using a cell phone when he was detained in La Joya, and then after he was deported he called me a couple of times from Puerto Rico. As a matter of fact he sent me the photo above on 3 October 2011, so we've been in contact relatively recently.
Here's what happened: Isaac Polanco got paid by the government of Panama for providing information on other criminal elements here in Panama - he was an informant. He developed a degree of credibility because on a couple of the occasions the information he provided was correct and accurate, and it resulted in arrests of others who had committed crimes, and specifically he helped to solve one important kidnapping case. With regards to the whole supposed kidnapping plot against president Ricardo Martinelli, from what I understand that was something Polanco himself basically invented. He convinced the two SPI guys that were involved to start planning. Then, he turned around and tried to sell the information to the Panamanian authorities. When the busts when down, he was arrested as well.
A Year In Prison: Isaac Polanco spent about a year in prison. During that entire time his case was being investigated by José Ayú Prado, who at the time was the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime. The case of the alleged or supposed kidnapping plot was assigned to him. It's important to note that José Ayú Prado is now the Attorney General of Panama. Isaac Polanco told me he was taken to be questioned or interrogated on several occasions in the office of José Ayú Prado, but during those interviews Ayú Prado didn't ask him very much about the supposed kidnapping plot. Rather, he spent all of his time asking Polanco about other criminal figures and networks. Apparently the Panamanian authorities had figured out relatively quickly that the kidnapping thing was bullshit, but Ayú Prado wanted to take advantage of the fact that Issac Polanco was detained and being held in prison awaiting trial, to attempt to extract as much actionable intelligence from him as possible, before he was released.
Physical Attacks and Abuse: When we spoke on the phone Isaac Polanco never told me that Ricardo Martinelli kicked him in the stomach personally - I would have remembered something like that. In his interview on Telemetro today he also mentioned the names of Javier Carrillo and Manuel Moreno. That would make sense because at the time Javier Carrillo was the Chief of the DIJ, and Issac Polanco was initially detained in the holding cells of the DIJ when the case was initially being investigated, and this is common practice. He also mentioned the name of Manuel Moreno, who at the time was the Chief of the Homicide Division within the DIJ - I worked with Moreno on the murder investigation of Daniel Moreno (no relation to Manuel Moreno) who has been arrested and charged in the murder of the American citizen Denise Mullen Hiller. Since the time that Issac Polanco was arrested, Manuel Moreno has since been promoted and he is now the Chief of the DIJ, and Javier Carrillo has also been promoted and he is now the Director of the National Immigration Service. So, all of the primaries involved have been promoted. And about the abuse in prison, Isaac Polanco told me he got beat up in prison on several occasions, and that his life had been threatened. He was hospitalized with a broken jaw - facts he repeated again today.
Fear Of Reprisals: When I spoke to Isaac Polanco he said he was concerned for the welfare of his wife and family - he's married to a Panamanian and has Panamanian children.
Cleared Of All Charges: A judge in San Miguelito issued a "provisional acquittal" in favor of Polanco and ordered his release. However he was not release, but rather he was handed over to the Immigration authorities and deported.
Interesting Twist On His Deportation: Isaac Polanco sent me a copy of the documentation used to deport him. Apparently, the Immigration authorities issued a letter (I have a copy) saying Issac Polanco had just arrived in Panama on 9 December 2010 at the Tocumen International Airport on an American Airlines flight from Puerto Rico. Of course this was impossible, because on the date specified in the letter, Issac Polanco was in fact an inmate in the La Joya prison. The same letter says the Immigration officials had declared him as a person who was "inadmissible" to the country because he did not have a passport or he had lost his travel documents. And that was also a lie, because in fact the Immigration authorities had confiscated his passport, and a copy of the passport was in fact attached to the letter. Based on this document, Immigration ordered the deportation of Polanco on 11 December 2010 aboard Copa flight number 710, departing that day at 12:04 pm. Issac Polanco was taken straight to the airport, put on a plane, and sent to Puerto Rico.
Deported With A Warning: Polanco told me he was threatened - that if he said anything then his wife and family would be in danger. When Polanco called me he was basically looking for advice. He wanted to know, "what can I do?" I explained that his position was relatively weak. He was in fact a paid informant. In short, he was involved in criminal activity himself and he managed to avoid arrest and prosecution because he was providing information about the criminal activities of others. In fact Polanco even told me he was concerned for the safety of his wife and family, mostly because he was worried that the people he had helped to put in prison might find out they were caught based on the information he had provided. And with regards to Issac Polanco getting beat up, killed, or threatened while in La Joya - I imagine his biggest fears and concerns were for those same guys, the people he had put in prison with the information he provided. Those were probably the guys who broke his jaw. Polanco wanted to know what he could do - he wanted to return to Panama to be with his wife. Another problem he was having was that the US Embassy wouldn't issue a visa for his family to come to Puerto Rico. So, she couldn't get there, and he couldn't return to Panama. I think my bottom line advice to him was that he could move to Costa Rica, that way he could be close to Panama but not inside of Panama, and his wife could return to visit when she wanted. I also told him his chances of winning some kind of a lawsuit or legal action were probably pretty slim, because the Executive branch holds control over all the other branches of government, including the Supreme Court. Even if he submitted some kind of a complaint the long term chances were not good. Apparently he decided to go ahead and pull the trigger anyway, and of course this whole thing makes a big splash in the headlines today.
What Do I Think? In my opinion I think the whole "kidnapping" plot thing evaporated pretty quickly once Polanco and the two SPI guys were arrested. Was Isaac Polanco "tortured" while in prison? I doubt it. Was he vigorously interrogated? Probably. Was he made to be afraid? Sure, most certainly, especially in the first few hours or days when the law enforcement authorities really (really) wanted to know if there was a kidnapping plot against the president, or not. Once they figured out it was all bullshit (most likely invented by Polanco himself) then they would have calmed down significantly. They pressed charges, held him in prison for a year, had a trial, he was acquitted, and instead of being released he was deported (in a highly unusual manner, and using documents that appear to contain lies and false information.) And of course the timing of all of this is interesting, considering the political elements and angles this case will generate.
"That's About The Gist Of It" At some point in time I bounced all of this off of my law enforcement contacts at the US Embassy. Of course I can't quote them directly or attribute anything by name, and for the most part they just listened to what I thought about the whole Isaac Polanco affair, how it went down, and what was going on in truth and fact. The best I could get from them was "yeah, that's about the gist of it" and "you've got it nailed down pretty good." I think if I was completely out there in left field somewhere, they would have let me know, or at least given me a direction in which to sniff around. But I didn't bother following up because I was satisfied.
And Now The Fireworks Will Start: Who's going to investigate all of this? The Attorney General José Ayú Prado sure as hell isn't going to lift a finger - he was the one who orchestrated Polanco's arrest, detention, trial, and eventual deportation from the start. Polanco's lawyer (that's a whole different story, there) said she will be submitting a complaint before the National Assembly, because she is apparently going to name Ricardo Martinelli and the Attorney General as defendants. Let's see, does Martinelli still have 36 votes in the National Assembly? (Check). Nope, that's not going to go anywhere either. Supreme Court? No good there either, because it's 8-4 Martinelli. So Polanco basically has no chance of winning anything, and that's why I suggested he might want to consider Costa Rica. So why hire the most controvertial lawyer in Panama to move his case? And who is his lawyer? None other than Zulay Rodríguez, who went public with her accusations regarding a supposed plot to get Ana Matilde Gomez removed from office as the Attorney General, and who was responsible for the resignation of the newly appointed Supreme Court Judge José Abel Almengor. Yeah, it's political. Polanco and his case are pawns. Next...
Potential Human Rights Case: When I talked to Polanco on the phone I told him there was a recent case in which a guy from (Peru, I think?) was awarded a judgement by the International Court of Human Rights, which decided his human rights had been violated in the way he was held and deported back to Peru. I told Polanco that if the document he sent me regarding his deportation to Puerto Rico was legitimate, then he might be able to make a case on the human rights angle. Apparently, that's what he's going for.
Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.
