The World - News from Oct. 1, 1987

A dozen armed plainclothesmen who said they were members of Panama’s federal investigation department ransacked the home of Anel Beliz, a Panamanian who serves as public affairs officer for the Panama Canal Commission, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said. The plainclothesmen told two occupants of the home that they were looking for a relative of Beliz’s who publishes the opposition newspaper El Siglo, which the government ordered closed on July 26, spokeswoman Cynthia Farrell said. When asked if the search was illegal, Farrell would only say that the residence, in an area under joint U.S.-Panamanian jurisdiction, is considered to be under the administration of the Canal Commission.