Rómulo Escobar Bethancourt (September 5, 1927September 28, 1995) was a Panamanian politician and diplomat. He was known for his role in negotiating the Panama Canal treaties in 1977.

Biography

Escobar was trained as a criminal lawyer, and was a member of the

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in Panama. Due to his political views he was initially jailed by the socialist government of

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard and military leader of Panama from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama, ...

when it took power after a coup in 1968. However, he later became an advisor to Torrijos's government. In the aftermath of the

Leyla Express and Johnny Express incidents In December 1971, the freighters ''Leyla Express'' and ''Johnny Express'' were seized by Cuban gunboats. The ''Leyla Express'' was stopped in international waters off the Cuban coast on December 5; the ''Johnny Express'' was intercepted by gunbo ...

in 1971, in which two freighters bearing Panamanian flags were seized by the Cuban government on suspicion of transporting arms and mercenaries to Cuba, Escobar led the Panamanian delegation to Cuba to negotiate the release of the captain of one of the freighters. Escobar was appointed Panama's chief negotiator when the United States and Panama negotiated the 1977 Panama Canal treaties. In this position, he helped Panama regain partial control over the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, which had been in United States control since 1903. He was described as a capable diplomat. In 1979 he became one of the founders of the

Democratic Revolutionary Party The Democratic Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Democrático, PRD) is a political party in Panama founded in 1979 by General Omar Torrijos. It is generally described as being positioned on the centre-left. History Since its creat ...

(''Partido Revolucionario Democrático'', PRD), the political arm of the Panamanian military, and served as its president. When

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

became the de facto leader of Panama in 1983 Escobar kept his position as a political advisor. In 1988 the United States demanded that Noriega be removed from his position; Escobar again represented Panama in the negotiations that followed. Arguing against the United States' position, Escobar stated "We don't accept that the United States can dictate when we can or cannot be in our country, be it Noriega or any other Panamanian." The negotiations were unsuccessful, and after the

United States invasion of Panama The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos– ...

in 1989 removed Noriega from power, Escobar was jailed. When the PRD came back to power after elections in 1994, Escobar was made an advisor to the foreign affairs minister. Escobar served for a period as the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

University of Panama The University of Panama ( es, Universidad de Panamá) was founded on October 7, 1935. Initially, it had 175 students learning education, commerce, natural sciences, pharmacy, pre-engineering or law. , it had 74,059 students distributed in 228 b ...

. He wrote the book, ''Torrijos: ¡Colonia americana no!'', about the government of Torrijos. He died in 1995 in a hospital in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

. A local news service reported

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

as the cause of death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar Bethancourt, Rómulo 1927 births 1995 deaths Panamanian diplomats 20th-century Panamanian lawyers Democratic Revolutionary Party politicians People's Party of Panama politicians Deaths from cancer in Panama Deaths from throat cancer