The Moscoco government recently fired an unusual double-barreled sawed-off shotgun blast. The scope of the attack that Mireya and her underling leveled surely raises more questions about her administration's isolation than the content of the allegations against whom they railed.

On April 5 Foreign Minister José Miguel Alemán, the baby-faced nemesis of the equine community, said that there's a gringo plot to destabilize not only the Moscoso government, but Panama itself. He says that he got a report from Panama's law enforcement agencies about how "North American citizens"… "took actions that really attack stability in Panama." He said that the Panamanian police agencies are watching these people, but that he doesn't want to give further details.

In other words, he's seeking to intimidate Panama's American community in general with vague allegations and a warning that Big Sister is watching. But why might Mireya and her minions want to do that?

One good clue came the day before, when Mireya Moscoso criticized reports in La Prensa that the National Bank of Panama, ignoring bids of $556,657 and $331,000 for a piece of land in Tonosi that was assessed at $760,000 and sold it to a company said to be at least partly owned by presidential aide Onassis García for $260,000. The president complained that the reports "question everything about this government," but didn't specifically deny them.

Well, yes, Mireya. This and other scams DO put your government in question. Yes, Mr. Alemán. Most gringos DO look askance at the current administration's corruption, and serious and honest American investors are wary of doing business in Panama as a result of it. The broadside blast against unspecified Americans --- and thus ALL Americans --- will surely aggravate that problem.

This panagringo (born in Colon of American parents, with cedula number 3-721-1318) would like to make two points:

1) Panama's American community is large and diverse, with no single person in a position to speak for it. However, one of the things that the resident gringos and panameños have in common is that the great majority of us are absolutely disgusted with the generalized corruption that we see in all branches of Panamanian government.

2) This administration has trashed Panama in many ways. There is the international scandal about the sale of seamen's certificates to unqualified people and the Moscoso government's refusal to bring those responsible to justice, which has led to extra coast guard inspections of Panamanian-flag ships all around the world, which in turn has led to shipping companies abandoning the Panamanian flag. There is the HP-1430 helicopter insurance fraud scam, which surely hasn't helped this country's aspirations to be a major international insurance center. There was the president's attempt to renege on our treaty commitment to suppress the laundering of the proceeds of political corruption, which more than anything led to Panama getting placed on ruinous international financial blacklists. And on and on and on…. When a Panamanian of any ethnicity or national origin objects to this kind of government, he or she is not destabilizing Panama, but DEFENDING Panama.

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