Hired propagandist for an invading army

PANAMA. In a recent column for the Panama Star, Eric Jackson said:

“Now set the Way-Back Machine to the late 1980s. Panama and the United States were headed toward a violent confrontation.

“A clandestine radio station backed by the CIA was making anti-Noriega propaganda broadcasts. It got raided and one of those involved, Kurt Muse, was thrown in jail. Another of those involved, one Bosco Vallarino --- a Voice of America correspondent at the time --- was quickly spirited out of the country.”

“Vallarino made his way back to Panama as part of the December 1989 US invasion force. He went around a Panama City under an attack that killed hundreds of innocent civilians, talking on a loudspeaker and urging people to support the invaders.”

“One of the differences between being a propagandist for a losing side as compared to playing the same role for the victorious ones is that in the latter case one doesn't get prosecuted for treason. In fact, Vallarino got a low-level job as a press flack in the Endara administration. Now he's running for mayor of Panama.”

A recent article on La Estrella’s sister publication “El Siglo”, says Vallarino feels affection for president George Bush (father), because according to him, his government protected him from the claws of Noriega.

Vallarino explained that during the dictatorship his mother was kidnapped for 45 days and that thanks to the American government she was released.

According to the candidate, the US offered protection not only to her, but to many Panamanians who were obliged to seek refuge in the US and who, like him, were able to obtain US citizenship.