The latest surprise announcement by President Ricardo Martinelli, saying that he  plans to legalize "hundreds of thousands" of Colombians living in Panama,  has heads spinning inside and out of the government.

Details of how and when the legalization would take place are not known as Martinelli made the announcement on a visit to Medellin, Colombia and kept the details to himself.
María Cristina González, director of the National Immigration Service, is outside of the country.
She sought to exert damage control and told La Prensa   by phone that the plan is to "regularize" the status only of illegal Colombian residents who have lived in the country for over 10 years and have already formed a "Panamanian family.”
The Colombian Embassy in Panama estimates that 100,000 could benefit.
The total number of Colombians in the country is unknown. In Medellin, Martinelli referred to a "small census", but didn’t mention the results.
His advisors will be scurrying to find out.