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

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

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 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 () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, 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 (, PRD) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in Panama founded in 1979 by General Omar Torrijos. To date, it has been the party of four Panamian presidents: Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino ( ...

(''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 and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

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 invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the '' de facto'' ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for rack ...

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 of the

University of Panama The University of Panama () is a public university in Panama City, Panama. It 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 student ...

. 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, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

. A local news service reported

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

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