Arnulfo Arias

Arnulfo Arias Madrid was a nationalist supremacist xenophobe Panamanian politician, medical doctor, and writer who served as the President of Panama from 1940 to 1941, 1949 to 1951, and finally for 11 days in October 1968. Though he was born to a mixed couple (Spaniard father and native-Panamanian mother), he presented himself as "White."

Nazism
Arias was regarded as 'pro-Nazi'. His expressions as well as his doctrine, earned him the nickname "Führer Criollo" in the region.

His allegiance and even admiration was for Nazi Germany. He expressed sympathy for Hitler and for Nazis' victory, and the most explicit indictment of Arias as a nazi came out of his own mouth. His own brother and nephew indicted him for being a Nazi sympathizer. Arias met Hitler in 1937, struck up a friendship with him, and per a report, he became "Nazi in body and soul." He also met Göring, Goebbels, Himmler and other Nazi officials. Arias had been Panama's ambassador to Nazi Germany, and his cabinet was generally pro-German.

His 1941 constitution
"After having served as Panama’s ambassador to Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany, Arnulfo came back to succeed his brother Harmodio as president and to sponsor the constitution of 1941, which stripped all Panamanians of the races he hated — it didn’t matter if they, their parents and their grandparents were all born here — of their citizenship." Its 1941 constitution, described as 'Nazi style,' prohibited the immigration of blacks and Chinese to Panama; it also widely violated the civil rights. "Arias aspired to rid the country of non-Hispanics, which meant not only North Americans, but also West Indians, Chinese, Hindus and Jews." His brother also asked the Americans to get rid of him.

Arias "called for the forced repatriation or sterilization of Panama's substantial black and Asian populations."

In 1951, after Arnulfo tried to reinstated his Nazi-style 1941 constitution by decree, a popular uprising again deposed him.

KKK inspired / Acción Comunal
"Arias traced his political roots to the 1920s Accion Comunal movement, whose members used to dress up in KKK robes and advocated the expulsion of all Panamanians of Afro-Antillean, Asian or Middle Eastern ancestry."

Acción Comunal "members adopted fascist and racist symbols, met semi-clandestinely, wore sheets, and railed against West Indian and U.S. influences. Acción magazine's logo, designed in 1923, featured a swastika."

Fall
Indeed, he was ultimately undone by his allegiance to Nazi Germany and his own heavy-handed government.