The news from Panamá continues to be supportive of the killing of Osama Bin Laden by the United States. It was heavily covered on the TV News at Six along with other news, including a push to catch Chinese illegal immigrants, alleged fraud in the Department of Immigration blamed for their high numbers here, increases in food and gasoline prices and the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Panamá. The TV “man in the street” interviews suggested happiness but recognition that Osama’s demise will not end terrorism.
This report from a Panamanian paper says there has been rejoicing throughout much of the world and that
Brazil, meanwhile, expressed concern about possible reprisals. Mexico, Chile and Colombia to the United States congratulated for their operations, and Peru said even the death of Bin Laden is the first miracle of Pope John Paul II beatified.”
His first miracle was to take the world to the embodiment of evil, the demonic incarnation of crime and hatred,” Bush said at the opening of a hydroelectric works in Cusco (south). “On the same day that it was beatified has given us the news that he was flying towers and buildings are no longer here, hopefully they will go with him the hatred and resentment, I think this is the first miracle of the Blessed John Paul II” he added. [Far from perfect translation by Google]
Well, maybe. However, as far as I’ve heard former President Bush wasn’t in Cusco, his name does not appear in the Spanish text in that context and it is apparent that the comments attributed to him were made by the President of Peru. That the comments were made by the Peruvian President is also reported here.
It’s also reported in the same Panamanian paper that residents of the city in Pakistan where the action occurred were astonished and
still have trouble believing that the world’s most wanted man was living just around the corner and tell, afraid, details of the U.S. commando operation.”I had no idea what was happening there,” says Wassem to the AFP, not far from where a U.S. command killed the founder of Al Qaeda.
“It’s a very quiet neighborhood, the more peaceful” area, he adds, referring to the place where the house was three stories high walls with wires púa. Un local tailor, Ejaz Mahmud has for the umpteenth time wonder he was seeing “a big ball of fire down from heaven” at the beginning of the attack shortly after midnight.
The surprise was even greater when the people of this colonial town reminiscent saw on television the president Barack Obama announced that Bin Laden had died at his home in Abbottabad. “We are depressed. We are concerned about our city, which suddenly became the center of the world, “adds Mahmoud.
“You could hear sirens, people screaming and then the flames … Everyone is afraid,” says agrega. Como most people, the tailor did not send their children to school. “The police and security forces surrounded the neighborhood and we have no right to leave,” he explains.
The mansion was home to Bin Laden, adjacent to a field of potatoes, is located in a valley town of eucalyptus.
The protective wall of the house, four to six meters high, was guarded by police and soldados. Uno many of them, guard about 300 yards away, still expressing disbelief. “Bin Laden there? Not I think no one believes “he says.” We were called at three in the morning, two hours after the operation ended. [Far less than perfect Translation by Google]
As to Venezuela, there still doesn’t seem to be much in the papers there. The Miami Herald, apparently having done a pretty thorough survey of Latin American news sources, notes that
In Venezuela, where President Hugo Chávez has often criticized the United States’ foreign policy, state-run media was more muted.The headline of the Venezuelan News Agency read: “U.S. troops assassinate bin Laden on Sunday.”
The article goes on to say that the FBI was never able to prove bin Laden’s link to the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and that he had been used as an excuse by the U.S. government to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
The thrust of it all seems to be that with the possible exception of Venezuela where responses have been muted, most folks are happy.
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