VENEZUELA: Strongman Moves On

• Share

Relaxed in the air-conditioned VIP waiting room at Panama's Tocumen Airport, ex-Strongman Juan Perón affably thanked the Panamanian government for "eight good months" and sent his warmest regards to "the humble and suffering, and all the workers" of Panama. Upstairs, the former Argentine dictator's shapely secretary, Dancer Isabel Martínez, stopped sipping a Coke long enough to pose for photographers and describe her boss as "an extraordinary man in all respects." Then Perón, 60, and Isabel, 23, climbed aboard a plane for Venezuela.

The household was apparently changing countries on its own hook; Panamanian officials vowed that they had no complaints about Perón's behavior. Perón himself was silent on why he was moving, but one reason was probably his peeve at being asked to leave Panama during the conference of American Presidents. He might also desire to close ranks with the colony of Peronist exiles in Venezuela, some of them doing well in the booming horse-racing business. As Perón landed in Caracas, he was cheered by some 100 of these supporters with a fervor reminiscent of his old days in power. First to step up and embrace the fading strongman: General Raúl Tanco, one of the leaders of a June revolt against Argentina's provisional government.