Panama: a tale of reality By Jeff Bruzzo In the course of my lifetime, there have had experiences which have shaped my life, albeit in a silent way, until future events have caused the proverbial “reality check” moment.   As I reflect on what was, the present has once again yielded itself to an examination of history. Some of us are shaped by being part of that history, allowing us to have an extraordinary sense about what is going on today. This is my story, never before told, known only by myself and family. My father-in-law, Fernando Molto, was exiled from Spain because he wouldn't submit to Franco's rule... he was a Royal Guard. He later settled in Panama and became a successful businessman in Chiriquí. Our fates met in Panama of 1988, under the Iron rule of the fascist/socialist/narco dictator Manuel Noriega. He despised Noriega, yet Noriega never went after him, fearing a popular revolt: he was well respected by the people in his province. I met his daughter that year and went on to marry her a year later. Armored personnel carrier, Dec, 1989   Being in the Air Force, I was stationed outside Panama City, yet lived down town because of housing and a perceived sense of safety. During my entire time there, I watched the fundamental transformation of that small country into a Marxist/fascist police state. Never in my wildest imagination could I have ever expected such a thing to happen right here in America, yet we are well under way. I was experiencing first hand what many had in other similar countries, such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, or Saddam’s Iraq: A gun pointed at my head, an RPG aimed at my car, total control of the media, nationalization of just about every aspect of the economy, intimidation by the secret police (DENI), etc. I was to be tear-gassed during the scam elections (which Noriega voided) and my wife and I escaped the famous failed coup attempt against Noriega on Oct 3, 1989. We were caught downtown, trying to get government permission for her to have a baby (my son Kenny), in a hail of gunfire, two blocks from the Commandancia (Noriega's HQ). It wasn’t until later that I realized the Panamanian army major, Moises Giroldi, who led the coup, being summarily executed and subsequently dumped from a helicopter as retribution into the Pacific, was our neighbor. Reality check: "You’re not in Kansas anymore!". General Manuel Noriega   Fortunately, I was able to return to my military base each day and always had that sense of security not far from me. Eventually, the U.S. military restricted our access to Panama for our safety, but left my pregnant wife off base, as she was a Panamanian. Three days after the U.S. invasion, on Dec 18th, my son was born in what was left of a downtown clinic, in the middle of what could best be described as anarchy, before the U.S. troops secured order. I was on base, in contact with her by telephone... yes, they still worked, listening to the gunfire outside her clinic window, then the silence as American tanks moved in (her eye witness account) to secure the area. She was fortunate to have a Doctor, Rolando Yee, risk his life through gunfire, to bring her to that clinic... I will never forget him. As for Fernando, he was always ready to escape across the border into Costa Rica. He later remarked to me how depressing it would have been to be exiled from two countries in a row, with a chuckle and a smile. Adversity had shaped him and had prepared him for it, if it was to happen again. Panama City skyline    On my return trip to Panama 1n 2000, I revisited many of those places with a tear in my eyes: The Clinica Nacional was about to be torn down to make way for a new high rise building. On meeting Dr. Yee again, I was at a loss for words as we shook hands; it was one of those lump-in-the-throat moments. As well, her family was enjoying life in a free society, both in the capital and up north; Fernando was living well in retirement. I almost couldn't believe the Panama City skyline; it had doubled in 10 short years, fueled by a new Constitutional government in 1992, as well as free and open elections every four years, ensuring successive presidencies handed off to the next without a hitch. Panama had always had a free market economy, though the nation dabbled with dictators and some presidents, who may have been more Marxist leaning, never going too far left as to illicit the wrath of the American military machine at its doorstep (Panama Canal Zone): until Manuel Noriega. Part of the Panama success today, can be attributed to their use of the 'then' stable U.S. Dollar, but most of all it was their realization that taxes and government should not get in the way of starting and running a business. While the Panama economy has grown ten fold in only years, ours continues to decline. The reality should be quite clear to the socialists in our government... a free market thrives on the hands off method! Fernando passed away in 2005, at the height of the last asset bubble, a free man. As the Dollar has free-fallen in value over the past ten years, so goes Panama's economy, inevitably tied to a seemingly indestructible currency. I hope reality sets in once again and they take a hard look at re-establishing their own currency, the Balboa; just back it with a gold standard.    Final note:  Destiny finds its way.   Francisco Franco                  Fernando Molto           Moises Giroldi                     Manuel Noriega                                                      by Jeff Bruzzo   Franco, the fascist dictator of Spain, died in 1975.  The Spanish Monarchy, under King Juan Carlos, has been restored. Fernando died in 2005 of old age, well into his eighties. Moises Giroldi left behind a wife and two children. Manuel Noriega (in his seventies) is still in jail, though currently a free man... nobody wants him.  He is said to have found Jesus.    As for me, all of these men have shaped me through different degrees of destiny: Mine still being written.