Global InformationUnited States invasion of Panama information
| United States invasion of Panama | |||||||
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| Part of the War on Drugs and Cold War | |||||||
 Clockwise from top:
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Panama |
 United States Panamanian opposition | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Manuel Noriega (POW) Marcos Justine (POW) Francisco A. Rodríguez |
George H. W. Bush Dick Cheney Maxwell R. Thurman Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. Jack B. Farris Guillermo Endara | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 16,000 | 27,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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314 killed[3] 1,908 captured |
23 killed[4] 325 wounded | ||||||
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Panamanian civilians killed according to:[3] | |||||||
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Pre-vice presidency
43rd Vice President of the United States
41st President of the United States
Policies
Appointments
Tenure
Presidential campaigns
Vice presidential campaigns
Post-presidency
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The United States invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The primary purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking. The operation, codenamed Operation Just Cause, concluded in late January 1990 with the surrender of Noriega.[9] The Panama Defense Forces (PDF) were dissolved, and President-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office.
Noriega, who had longstanding ties to United States intelligence agencies, consolidated power to become Panama's de facto dictator in the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s, relations between Noriega and the U.S. began to deteriorate due to fallout of the murder of Hugo Spadafora and the removal from office of President Nicolas Ardito Barletta. His criminal activities and association with other spy agencies came to light, and in 1988 he was indicted by federal grand juries on several drug-related charges. Negotiations seeking his resignation, which began under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1989, Noriega annulled the results of the Panamanian general elections, which appeared to have been won by opposition candidate Guillermo Endara; President Bush responded by reinforcing the U.S. garrison in the Canal Zone. After a U.S. Marine officer was shot dead at a PDF roadblock, Bush authorized the execution of the Panama invasion plan.
On December 20, the U.S. invasion of Panama began. Panamanian forces were rapidly overwhelmed, although operations continued for several weeks. Endara was sworn in as president shortly after the start of the invasion. Noriega eluded capture for several days before seeking refuge in the Holy See diplomatic mission in Panama City. He surrendered on January 3, 1990, and was then flown to the U.S., where he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The Pentagon estimated that 516 Panamanians were killed during the invasion, including 314 soldiers and 202 civilians. A total of 23 U.S. soldiers and 3 U.S. civilians were killed. The United Nations General Assembly and the Organization of American States both condemned the invasion as a violation of international law.
The United States invasion of Panama can be seen as a rare example of democratization by foreign-imposed regime change, which was effective long-term.[10]
- ^ "Veterans Preference and "Wartime" Service". archives.gov. August 15, 2016.
- ^ "Operation Just Cause: The Invasion of Panama, December 1989". United States Army.
- ^ a b Rohter, Larry (April 1, 1990). "Panama and U.S. Strive To Settle on Death Toll". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ^ Archibold, Randal C. (May 30, 2017). "Manuel Noriega, Dictator Ousted by U.S. in Panama, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Chomsky, Noam (1991). Deterring Democracy. Boston, MA: South End Press. p. 164. ISBN 9781466801530.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Trent, Barbara (1992). The Panama Deception.
- ^ Riding, Alan (June 24, 1990). "U.S. Sued in Death of a Journalist in Panama". The New York Times.
- ^ "'It's Been Worth It': Bush—U.S. Troops Take Control of Panama". Los Angeles Times. December 21, 1989.
- ^ Donnelly, Thomas; Roth, Margaret; Baker, Caleb (1991). Operation Just Cause: The Storming of Panama. Lexington Books. ISBN 0-669-24975-0.
- ^ Loxton, James (2022). "The Puzzle of Panamanian Exceptionalism". Journal of Democracy. 33 (1): 85–99. doi:10.1353/jod.2022.0006.