PANAMA -- (AP) -- The late Panamanian dictator who signed the accords that led to the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal in 1999 worked as an informant for U.S. military intelligence, Panamanian news media reported.

 Omar Torrijos, who seized power in a 1968 coup and ruled Panama until he was killed in a plane crash in 1981, signed the Panama Canal treaties with President Carter, which cleared the way for the handover of the canal to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

 According to reports in daily newspapers La Prensa and El Panama America, Torrijos was recruited to work for U.S. military intelligence in 1955, when he was in charge of the international airport in Panama City.

 The papers cited a document reportedly sent to Carter's then-national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, on Oct. 14, 1977, that said Torrijos had agreed to spy to "compensate for his low salary.''

 He was paid $25 a month for his work, and continued to work as an informant after he was demoted from his captain's position in 1959 for lack of productivity and
 irregularity in his reports, the newspapers said. Eventually, his salary as an informant was increased to $300, the reports said.
 
 
 

                                    © 2001