U.S. Republican Strategist Hired As Panama Image Consultant

Minister to the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu, confirmed that Panama has hired U.S. Republican publicist/strategist Terry Holt to shape up the country’s international image, La Prensa reports.

Papadimitriu emphasized that Holt is only bringing public relation services and not using his Capitol Hill connections for lobbying.  Holt, on his end, sent the U.S. Department of Justice a note indicating that he will only be working on communications and media strategy directed to the U.S. public at large, be it publicity campaigns, television and radio programs, news articles, brochures, speeches, etc.

The year-long contract pays $15,000 a month.

Terry Holt is a partner in the Republican lobbying firm HDMK.  Holt has worked as the National Spokesman for Bush-Cheney ’04 Inc. and served as senior adviser to the Republican National Committee.

During the 2004 campaign he said things like:

“John Kerry’s campaign seems to be summed up this way: I went to Vietnam, yadda, yadda, yadda, I want to be president.” – The Washington Post, March 2004

“But in John Kerry’s case, he went to Vietnam. He took his own photo camera, by the way, so he could get some good pictures… As soon as he came home, after just a few short months, he began running for political office on an anti-war campaign.” – MSNBC Hardball, May 2004.

Terry Holt, Center