Omar Torrijos

Omar Torrijos   (politician)
Born	February 13, 1929 Santiago, Panama
Died	1981-07-31 (Age 52) near, Penonomé, Panama
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Raquel Pauzner de Torrijos
Victim of	assassination
Party	Democratic Revolutionary Party
Leader of Panama who refused to compromise the interests of the Panamanians. Assassinated  Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution In office 1972 - 1981  Military Leader of Panama In office October 11, 1968 - July 31, 1981

Omar Torrijos (with Jaime Roldós Aguilera) is named by John Perkins as someone who resisted the threats and bribes of the IMF and the World Bank and insisted on doing what would benefit the citizens of his country, Panama, and who was assassinated by CIA 'jackals' as a result.

He is named by the Encylopaedia Britannica as a "dictator-like leader".

 

Related Quotation

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Hoodwinked	“Panama's chief of government, Omar Torrijos, foresaw this meltdown and understood its implications back in 1978, when I was an economic hit man (EHM). He and I were standing on the deck of a sailing yacht docked at Contadora Island, a safe haven where U.S. politicians and corporate executives enjoyed sex and drugs away from the prying eyes of the international press. Omar told me that he was not about to be corrupted by me. He said that his goal was to set his people free from "Yankee shackles," to make sure his country controlled the canal, and to help Latin America liberate itself from the very thing I represented and he referred to as "predatory capitalism." "You know," he added, "what I'm suggesting will ultimately benefit your children too." He explained that the system I was promoting where a few exploited the many was doomed. "The same as the old Spanish Empire — it will implode." He took a drag off his Cuban cigar and exhaled the smoke slowly, like a man blowing a kiss. "Unless you and I and all our friends fight the predatory capitalists," he warned, "the global economy will go into shock." He glanced across the water and then back at me. "No permitas que te engañen," he said ("Don't allow yourself to be hoodwinked.") Three decades later, Omar is dead, likely assassinated because he refused to succumb to our attempts to bring him around, but his words ring true. For that reason I chose one of them as the title of my latest book, Hoodwinked.”	John Perkins	2009

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