February 4, 2002 - El Panamá América: Vaughn, un estadounidense que defendió a Panamá

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By Admin1 (admin) on Sunday, March 31, 2002 - 5:26 pm: Edit Post

Vaughn, un estadounidense que defendió a Panamá





Read and comment on this article from the Panamanian newspaper El Panamá América about former Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn and his role in the negotiations for the return of the Panama Canal. Jack Vaughn is still active in volunteer work and makes frequent visits to Honduras where he is a member of the Board of Directors of Ecotrust and to Panama where he participated in the recent seminar on the history of the Panama Canal which is referred to in this article. Read the story at:

Vaughn, un estadounidense que defendió a Panamá*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Vaughn, un estadounidense que defendió a Panamá

Enrique Luis Brathwaite (ebrathwaite@epasa.com)

El Panamá América

Si hablamos de Jack H. Vaughn, lo más seguro es que muy pocos panameños hagan memoria de este nombre. Sin embargo, la figura de este diplomático estadounidense de larga carrera estuvo íntimamente vinculada a una de las causas más importantes del pueblo panameño: la obtención integral de su soberanía.

Quizás Vaughn no aspiró a tanto, pero aquella semilla que plantó en su momento para garantizar que se hiciera justicia con Panamá, germinó aquel 7 de septiembre de 1977, día de la firma del histórico tratado Torrijos-Carter.

Septuagenario, pero con un humor de adolescente, reconoce que su planteamiento a favor de la causa panameña le costó que lo tildaran de loco, tanto por el ejército de su país como por miembros del Departamento de Estado. No obstante, nunca dejó de exponer, en las oportunidades que tuvo, la necesidad de reformar las relaciones existentes entre Panamá y Estados Unidos.

Jack Vaughn estuvo en Panamá durante la presentación de la obra "Las Negociaciones sobre el Canal de Panamá", del escritor Omar Jaén Suárez, calificada como la más importante fuente documental sobre la historia diplomática de Panamá. En esa ocasión no dejó de sorprender con las revelaciones que hizo sobre su papel en parte de la historia panameña.

Ante la intriga de por qué un diplomático estadounidense habría defendido con tanto afán la lucha de Panamá por obtener mejores beneficios en la relación que representó la presencia de Estados Unidos en el Istmo, dijo a El Panamá América que vivió en este país durante cinco años (entre 1951 y 1956) donde conoció a sus mejores amigos, que aún hoy conserva.

"Yo viví aquí de manera exitosa y cómodamente, dedicado a la actividad agrícola y como no era militar estadounidense entendí que ya era el momento de cambiar la relación, la división de la torta, que recibía Panamá por el Canal", comentó.

La relación Panamá-Estados Unidos, expresó, era tan injusta que él tenía que convencer a sus connacionales que ya era el momento de darle un giro radical a ese vínculo "y yo tenía que pelear en ese momento contra mí gente".

Pero la tarea de Vaughn no fue fácil, ya que debió hacerlo en un momento en que nadie y menos las fuerzas militares de Estados Unidos estaban dispuestos a ofrecer concesiones debido a la coyuntura que representaba la guerra de Vietnam.

"Era un período de guerra total donde el Pentágono no pensaba en otra cosa, como revisar convenios u otra 'vaina' como esas, porque necesitaba las bases militares para el adiestramiento de sus unidades", explicó.

Sin embargo, y pese a no contar en esos momentos con influencias, como las que tenía el Secretario de Defensa y el Jefe del Comando Sur, Vaughn continúo con la predica que, a su parecer, caló cuando en una reunión de cancilleres del hemisferio, realizada en Brasil, Fernando Eleta (canciller de Panamá) le hizo serios cuestionamientos al Secretario de Estados norteamericano.

Estos planteamientos fueron a su vez repetidos por el propio Vaughn al presidente Lindon Jonhson, que hasta cierto punto reconocía la intransigencia de los militares estadounidenses.

En ese entonces las cosas no progresaron mucho. Hasta que en 1964 se produjeron los fatídicos hechos del 9 de enero, que incluso habían sido advertidos al presidente Jonhson años atrás por Vaughn.

Fue después de ese difícil período que Jack Vaughn, ahora en el cargo de Subsecretario para Asuntos Latinoamericanos, contribuyó con la parte panameña que había iniciado negociaciones para cambiar el rumbo de las relaciones entre ambos países. "Aunque mi papel en las negociaciones del tratado final fue mínimo", se apresura a aclarar el ex diplomático.

Añade que, coincidentemente, fue un ex militar, el presidente Jimmy Carter, quien años más tarde entendió que era necesario hacer justicia atendiendo la demanda que era impulsada por los panameños.

Vaughn concluye que en esos momentos se integró y apoyó al equipo negociador de Panamá intercambiando consejos. Y es que "yo tenía la misma perspectiva que Fernando Eleta y a veces cantábamos juntos siguiendo la canción de Armando Manzanero que decía 'Contigo Aprendí".




PCOL on line would welcome any former volunteer who willing to take the time to translate this article to English and email it to us for posting.



Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; US Peace Corps - Director; COS - Panama

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By Admin1 (admin) on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 2:20 pm: Edit Post

Jack Vaughn, An American Who Defended Panama





Many thanks to Elaine Samaniego for providing us with this translation of the recent article that appeared about former Director Jack Vaughn in the Panamanian newspaper, El Panamá América, at:

Vaughn, An American Who Defended Panama*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Vaughn, An American Who Defended Panama

Enrique Lusi Brathwaite El Panama America

If we speak of Jack H. Vaughn, very few Panamanians will recall his name. However, the figure of this United States diplomat with a long career was intimately connected to one of the most important causes of the Panamanian people: the securing of their total sovereignty.

Perhaps Vaughn no aspired to so much, but that seed that he planted in his moment to guarantee that justice be done for Panama, germinated that 7 of September, 1977, the day of the signing of the historic treaty Torrijos-Carter.

In his seventies, but with a humor of adolescent, he admits that his idea put forth in favor of the panamanian cause subjected him to be labeled loco, as much by the armed forces of his country as by members of the State Department. In spite of this, he never left off expounding at every opportunity the necessity of reforming the relations between Panama and the United States.

Jack Vaughn was in Panama during the presentation of the work “The Negotiations Regarding the Panama Canal,” of the writer Omar Jaen Suarez, considered the most important documented source regarding the diplomatic history of Panama. On this occasion, he was not surprised by the revelations made about its role in part of Panamanian history.

For the questions of why a U.S. diplomat would be defending with such energy the struggle of Panama to obtain more benefit in the relationship that the presence of the U.S. in the Isthmus represented, he told the Panama America that he lived in this country for five years (between 1951 and 1956) when he met his best friends, that he still keeps.

“I lived here in a successful and comfortable way, dedicated to agricultural activities and as I was not a member of the U.S. military, I understood that now was the moment to change the relation, the cut of the pie, that Panama was receiving for the Canal” he commented.

The relation Panama-United States, he expressed, was so unjust that he had to convince his compatriots that it was now the moment to give a radical turn to this relationship “and I had to fight at this moment against my people.”

But the task of Vaughn was not easy, for reason that he had to do it at a time when no one and much less the armed forces of the U.S. was in the mood to offer concessions because of the coincidence of the Viet Nam war.

“It was a time of total war when the Pentagon was thinking of nothing else, like revising agreements or other annoyances like these, because they needed the military bases for training the troops,” he explained.

However, and in spite of not having influence, such as those possessed by the Secretary of Defense and the chief of the Southern Command, Vaughn continued with his preaching that, it seemed, sifted through when in a meeting of diplomats of the hemisphere, taking place in Brazil, Fernando Eleta, (foreign minister of Panama) put forth serious questions to the Secretary of State of the United States.

Those proposals were in time repeated by the same Vaughn to President Lyndon Johnson, who up to a point was aware of the stubbornness of the military .

Here things did not progress very much. Until in 1964 when occurred the fateful events of the 9th of January, of which incidentally Vaughn had warned President Johnson years before.

It was after that difficult period that Jack Vaughn, now in his post of Undersecretary for Latin American Affairs, contributed with the panamanian side that had initiated negotiations to change the direction of the relations between the two countries. “Although my role in the negotiations of the final treaty was minimal,” the ex-diplomat hastened to clarify.

He adds that, by coincidence, it was an ex-military man, President Jimmy Carter, who years later understood that it was necessary to do justice by heeding the demand that was pushed forward by the panamanians.

Vaughn concludes that then he took part and helped the negotiating team of Panama exchanging advice. And it is that “I had the same viewpoint as Fernando Eleta, and sometimes we would sing together according to the song of Armando Manzanero that says “I Learned with You.”




Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; US Peace Corps - Director; COS - Panama

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