Panama bares plot to eliminate Castro

in the area” and was trained by the CIA. Castro did not say how his team had uncovered the assassination plan, but added that authorities in Panama had been forewarned.

As the Castro drama played out on Friday, heads of state from across the region flew into Panama, with the exception of Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman, who attributed his absence to family illness, and Peru’s Alberto Fujimori, kept home by a two-month old political crisis. Fujimori’s grip on power has been seriously weakened by a corruption scandal involving his fugitive former spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, caught on video bribing an Opposition lawmaker.

Fujimori had been expected to play a central role at the annual summit, but even in his absence fears of instability in Peru will surely come up in side meetings at the event, if not in the main forum.

Economic instability in Argentina, Colombia’s seemingly endless war against Leftist rebels and cocaine producers, and fears of eroding democracy in Venezuela, where Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has widened his powers, are other potential topics of discussion.