Son’s Threat to Kill Bush Misunderstood--Ex-Panama Chief

A former Panamanian president testified today that his son is on trial for threatening to kill President Bush because of a misunderstanding of his people’s culture.

“We always talk about killing someone. Even two or three times. Latins are fiery and outspoken,” Demetrio B. Lakas, president of Panama from 1972 to 1978, told jurors. “But it is not taken seriously. It’s a way of expressing ourselves,” he said under cross-examination.

The elder Lakas had testified for the defense Wednesday that his son, Otto, grew up amid death threats in Panama.

“My life was threatened thousands of times,” Lakas said.

Otto Lakas is accused of threatening Bush in a discussion with the managers of a pawnshop where he was looking at a gun. His father testified, “Saying it and doing it are two different things.”