$690 Million Budget for New Homeland Security

Jose Raul Mulino, the new head of the newly created Department of Homeland Security which begins operation on June 15, would like to be exempt from prior controls in the spending of a proposed $690 million budget.

Although clause 2 of article 280 of Panama’s political constitution states that the Comptroller General oversees state spending and fund management, Mulino says that exemption will facilitate the purchase of equipment necessary to wage war on crime, with a three-year plan to improve insecurity levels in the country.

The Department of Homeland Security budget would allot $490 million for operations and $200 million for investment in 2011.  Mulino will become the first head of Homeland Security, shedding his Minister of Government and Justice title.  The office will have 35 administrative employees, and Mulino will have nearly 18,000 Public Forces and National Immigration Service agents at his disposal, La Prensa reports.

Jose Raul Mulino (left) and Erik Estrada (right)