Expatriate colonization in Panama

[Bonnie]

I recently became aware of the following article by Eric Jackson on his Panama English News site. I am posting it here not to provoke a conflagration or to disparage particular persons but because it is a historically based, provocative perspective on how certain types of expatriates have affected and potentially could affect this country.

OPINION - Eric Jackson

Colonization: a touchy subject that Panama should not just ignore

In collaboration with some Panamanian law firms, “offshore asset protection” outfits and real estate salespeople, plus another American named Daniel Daves, Wiles has prompted a migration to Boquete of Americans who believe in these primitive sorts of hatreds and are prepared to evade the immigration, labor and weapons laws of the Republic of Panama. Quotations by Rick Wiles, graphic by The Advocate.

 

October 20, 2015 (The Panama News) By Eric Jackson

 

 

Take the Wayback Machine to Panama City in 1856, when the California Gold Rush was still underway, the Dred Scott case was percolating in the American courts toward the next year’s decision that would do so much to provoke a bloody civil war, and this gringo named Jack Oliver thought it appropriate to steal from an Afro-Panamanian fruit vendor, and to introduce a gun into the argument when the vendor objected. Dozens of people, mostly Americans, were killed and the first of several US military invasions of Panama ensued.

 

Fast forward to 2014. This gringo named Sage Million was one of the “sovereign citizens” who colonized the El Volcan area. The sovereign citizens have many variations on a rap that began with a white supremacist group that calls itself the Posse Comitatus (not to be confused with a US law of that name). That routine originally went that because the rebellious states of the old Confederacy were obliged to adopt state constitutions that ratified the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution as a prerequisite for readmission to the Union, those amendments and all US constitutional changes that came thereafter, and the very existence of the federal government. and the things that it does and has done, are illegitimate, null and void. Consider that the 13th Amendment abolished slavery to know how reactionary that is. Consider that the 14th Amendment provides among other things that every person born in the United States is a US citizen to know how reactionary Donald Trump is. But there are other strains of sovereign citizens who say that it wasn’t until the 17th Amendment in 1913, which provides for direct election of US senators, or the 1934 Gold Reserve Act, that the national government became “unconstitutional.” In any case, the sovereign citizen rap is that by the time that Hawaii became a state in 1959 everything that the US federal government did was illegitimate.

 

That being so, Mr. Million figured, Hawaiian statehood and Hawaii’s state laws are illegitimate, ESPECIALLY the one giving rise to the warrant for his arrest for allegedly having sexual relations with a 10-year-old girl. He also considered himself so personally sovereign that Panamanian and Costa Rican borders didn’t apply to him. In the course of an illegal border crossing Panama’s SENAFRONT arrested him and the US embassy notified Panama of the state warrant for his arrest. Just one short-eye perv who’s a bit crazier than most? Well, that too, but Sage Million had both open and silent supporters in the gringo community here.

 

That’s scary, because some modern-day Jack Oliver who considers that young cholas have no rights that a white gringo is bound to respect could rather quickly inflame the deadliest of passions. A mob enraged about something like that may not inquire about what sort of American they would be attacking, especially if the ultra-right element of the gringo community shoves its way in front of the TV cameras and represents itself as the voice of all Americans here.

 

So is it just a matter for amusement when dozens of American families heed a call by Rick Wiles and Daniel Daves to drop everything in the USA and head to Panama, and then they start to show up in Boquete?

 

Consider that they are not just urging senior citizens to come retire here. Many of the people who have come to Boquete due to the urging of Wiles and Daves are working age Americans who are not millionaires and won’t qualify for pensionado, investor or special professional visas. They are coming here intending to violate Panamanian labor and immigration laws. And what about the advice that Daves gives his followers about protecting themselves? He not only says that every “Christian” of his variety ought to be packing a gun, he’s advising people to get portable anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down drones. Panama is conflicted about gun policies at the moment, and perhaps our Security Minister Rodolfo Aguilera is so far off the deep end as to like the idea of foreigners who are illegally here carrying surface-to-air weapons around. Were the National Police interested in a military coup, that sort of thinking around the cabinet table would be a readily available excuse. But although I think that Aguilera gets his information from Hollywood fiction to an extent unacceptable in a Panamanian government minister, I don’t think he’s for gringo fanatics going around Panama armed with weapons of war.

 

But hey — just because Panamanian law provides that preaching ethnic, political, racial or religious hatred is a deportable offense if a foreigner does it, our gay, lesbian and transgendered citizens are “fair game” here. In Panama it’s “legal” to hate queers. Plus, one of the questions that is not looked into during this country’s immigration procedures is whether the applicant suffers from paranoid delusions.

 

Set aside all of the creepy xenophobia that comes from legislator Zulay Rodríguez’s mouth — but all resident gringos should be aware of the threat that it represents in the presence of American extremists in Panama. And for those of us who are citizens, whether or not duals like me, there is a duty to Panama’s sovereignty — not only from hostile nations but also from individuals who consider themselves to be sovereign powers superior to the Panamanian people and to the flawed republic that happens to be the only one we have.

 

Balance those things against the universal human right to believe in whatever stupid thing that you want to believe. It’s not the first occasion for Panama to balance such considerations. But I think that if Wiles or Daves are found in this country, they should be arrested for illicit association to violate a number of Panamanian laws, and that all of their followers who have come here or seek to come here should be carefully examined on an individual basis. Panama really needs a better defined and more consistent policy about these sorts of colonizations.

 

[Chica de Chiriqui]

Bonnie, I "liked" your post.  Not sure why the green indicator only randomly appears on the home page.

[Brundageba]

I just ran into this article myself Bonnie.  When we had those discussions awhile back on the other forum I blew off the possibility of these men actually enticing young families to settle here.  Now i see more and more young families here...like a lot.  I never thought in my wildest dreams folks would actually fall for the line of these men.... I guess I may have been wrong.

[JohnF13]

I talked to Mr Daves some time ago before I knew anything about him.  Quite charming and charismatic - I guess that is how he gets so many followers.  At the time he had an office upstairs in San Francisco plaza.  Don't know if he is still there, but he did mention that he was lookig for land in Potrerillos to put up greenhousesand feed the poor. 

[Admin_01]

From Admin_01, with apologies:

Be advised that I have "split out" four posts from this thread and moved them to another forum (the Problems, Feedback and Suggestions forum). The general gist of those four posts is about issues related to the reputation functionality of this website. That kind of technical talk began with a side comment in a post by Chica de Chiriqui. Here is the post that began the sidebar conversation, with the relevant text bolded and highlighted:

Bonnie, I "liked" your post.  Not sure why the green indicator only randomly appears on the home page.

I felt compelled to address this matter because it sounded like it could be a software fault in this website. The technical talk that resulted from that comment is clearly not related to the topic nor this forum. And so the splitting out.

This is just one example of why we have a Rule (#14) about staying on-topic. I am not accusing Chica de Chiriqui of dastardly deeds; this was just an innocent comment that kind of exploded on its own.

For the curious, if you wish to view this sidebar topic, please click here: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/463-reputation-issues-in-a-long-thread/.

[Bud]

I find it interesting that this topic has not caused more interest and activity. Hmmmm.....

[Bonnie]

I find it interesting too, Bud, as there is a lot of interest in this locally. I'm inclined to think that, given the short attention span of many people, the article may have been too long to spark their interest. Another possibility is that folks are afraid of ruining afoul of the forum rules in responding since this topic has generated such strong feelings.

It is possible to discuss the issue without getting into personal attacks. And I think Mr. Jackson's history lessons are an essential element when considering the influx of evangelicals or Endtimers to our community. Those who have taken a live-and-let-live attitude toward these people should be fully aware of the threat that such extremists pose to the rest of us. Mr. Jackson suggests that their coming here in droves is not a matter of amusement because, and I quote,

Quote

"Consider that they are not just urging senior citizens to come retire here. Many of the people who have come to Boquete due to the urging of Wiles and Daves are working age Americans who are not millionaires and won’t qualify for pensionado, investor or special professional visas. They are coming here intending to violate Panamanian labor and immigration laws. And what about the advice that Daves gives his followers about protecting themselves? He not only says that every “Christian” of his variety ought to be packing a gun, he’s advising people to get portable anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down drones."

The writer offers examples of how this type of activity on the part of radical expatriates, who consider themselves to be sovereign powers exempt from Panamanian laws, threatens us all if and when they gain the attention they are seeking because they may come to be seen as representative of expats in general. 

Edited November 14, 2015 by Admin_01
added formatting to the quoted text (with concurrence of originator)

[Hil]

What is the true definition of "Terrorist?"

What is the true definition of "Cult Leaders?

Very scary.

[Franagain]

Be assured, there is a growing number of people who are very interested and concerned about the influx of hustlers disguised as Christians.

[WryAwry]

I'd like to sign-on as facilitator and general factotum for all these innocent, questing individuals. Remotely, of course.

 

Only $9.99 Balboas per month, payable one year in advance.

 

In a holy spirit,

 

wryawry

[SunsetSteve]

Bless you. Check is in the mail.