The Cuban lawyer Yaxis Cires, director of strategy at the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) and resident of Panama, revealed in an interview with CiberCuba details of the Panamanian democratic transition following the fall of dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989, events that he now applies to his analysis of Cuba's future.
Cires recounted that he arrived in Panama after leaving Cuba for political reasons: he worked with Monsignor Siro González Bacallao, the Bishop of Pinar del Río known for his steadfastness against the regime, and he was also associated with Dagoberto Valdés Hernández, a Catholic intellectual and a key figure in the independent Cuban civil society.
"When I left Cuba due to a political issue because I worked with Monsignor Siro, the bishop of Pinar del Río, who was very influential and had a great job, and I was also connected to Dagoberto Valdés," he explained.
Once in Panama, the lawyer became an assistant to Dr. Ricardo Arias Calderón in 2003. Arias had served as the first vice president and Minister of Government and Justice under Guillermo Endara's administration and was one of the key figures in the Panamanian transition.
"I was the assistant to Dr. Ricardo Arias Calderón, who was the leader of the transition," Cires stated, describing Arias Calderón as the official responsible for dissolving the Panamanian Defense Forces: "he was the minister of government and he was also the one who had to eliminate the army in Panama, dissolve, eliminate, get rid of the army."
Cires provided a detailed account of the chaos that followed the U.S. invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989, known as Operation Just Cause.
"The Americans asked: Where are the defense forces? Where are the generals? They had all hidden," he recalled.
According to the Cuban, even Noriega himself fled: "even Noriega hid," which forced U.S. troops to take on roles that were not their intended purpose.
"This meant that the Americans had to oversee even traffic and maintain public order," he pointed out, explaining the political consequences of that situation: Washington did not want an occupation, but rather to overthrow Noriega; however, the absence of Panamanian forces "resulted in a longer stay."
The decree that formally abolished the Defense Forces was issued on February 10, 1990, with retroactive effect from December 22, 1989, and they were replaced by civilian bodies - National Police, Maritime Service, Air Service, and Institutional Protection Service - all under civilian authority.
Cires emphasized the crucial role of the legitimately elected civilian government, which Noriega had prevented from assuming power following the elections on May 7, 1989.
"Thanks to God, the civil government that had been elected, which Noriega had not handed power over to immediately, got organized, for example, the public force and the police, giving an opportunity to those individuals who had not been involved in the repression to assist in the new police, as long as they accepted civil authority," he detailed.
For the lawyer, that was the fundamental lesson of the Panamanian transition: "everyone, all public forces, the police, the army must be subordinate to civil authority. And that happened in Panama."
This hands-on experience alongside one of the direct protagonists of the Panamanian change is the background he applies today to his work at the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, where he analyzes how a future democratic transition in Cuba should be managed, particularly regarding the reconstruction of the judicial system and security forces.
On May 20th, the OCDH presented in Madrid the report "The Absence of Judicial Independence in Cuba: Formal and Practical Elements", which documents how the Cuban judicial system is intentionally subordinated to the Communist Party and State Security, not due to isolated failures.
"A transitional government must ensure that water flows through the pipes, that electricity runs through the wires, that people can gradually improve their standard of living, that food is available... but it is also essential to guarantee justice," Cires warned.
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