A U.S. Embassy cable dated August 2009 reported that Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli had asked Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson for assistance with telephone wiretaps. Stephenson wrote that Martinelli “clearly made no distinction between legitimate security targets and political enemies,” describing a potential abuse of surveillance technology by a sitting head of state. The cable was published by WikiLeaks in December 2010, making the allegation public and exposing the extent of U.S. diplomatic reporting on Panama’s intelligence requests.
Martinelli’s administration denied that he had ever asked for help tapping politicians’ phones. The leaked report therefore established the existence and contents of the diplomatic allegation, not that the alleged request was proven in court. Martinelli was later charged over the interception of communications involving political opponents and journalists, but was acquitted. The episode nevertheless became a lasting example of how government wiretapping can blur the boundary between national-security investigations and politically motivated surveillance.
