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Noriega and the CIA
During the late 1950s into the 1980s, Noriega provided valuable information to the CIA and helped the U.S. seize numerous large drug shipments. Upon taking power, he allowed the U.S. to set up listening posts in Panama and is believed to have served as a conduit for U.S. funds to Nicaraguan contra rebels fighting the Sandinista government. The U.S. allowed Noriega to establish a "narco-kleptocracy," at least until relations soured and Noriega was overthrown. -
President Jimmy Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaty and Neutrality Treaty promising to give control of the canal to the Panamanians by the year 2000.
However, the U.S. Senate also inserted a proviso that permitted the United States to continue to defend the Panama Canal after 1999. The senators noted that this proviso should not be interpreted as giving the United States the right to intervene in Panama's internal affairs or otherwise infringe upon that country's sovereignty. However, that is exactly what happens with Operation Just Cause. -
Omar Torrijos Dies - Noriega's power rises
Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos, who seized power in 1968 coup, dies in a mysterious plane crash. His intelligence chief, Col. Manuel A. Noriega, gradually assumes control of armed forces and emerges as the de facto leader of the nation. It is later learned that Noriega was a paid informer for CIA and, perhaps, other nations' intelligence services. -
Ardito Barletta elected as President
Nicolas Ardito Barletta, a 46-year-old economist and former vice president for Latin America at the World Bank, was elected on May 6 as Panama's first presidential elections in 16 years. However, the inauguration was preceded by protest demonstrations at which supporters of the opposition claimed there was election fraud. -
Noriega removes Ardito Barletta from power and installs Eric A. Delvalle
At a meeting at Defense Forces Headquarters between Ardito Barletta and the commanders, serious discrepancies arose, leading to Ardito Barletta's resignation on 27 September 1985, after only eleven months in office. Ardito Barletta was succeeded the next day by his first vice president, Eric Arturo Delvalle. -
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Relations between Panama and the United States deteriorate
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First public confrontation between Noriega and the United States
Col. Roberto Diaz Herrera, expelled chief of staff of Panamanian Defense Forces, accused Noriega of rigging 1984 presidential election and linked him to the death of Torrijos and his political opposition Hugo Spanford. Anti-Noriega demonstrations ensued and The U.S Senate promptly passed a resolution calling for the dictator to step down. Shortly after, a pro-Noriega mob attacked the U.S embassy and the State Department cut off economic and military aid to Panama. -
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Police close independent newspapers and raid the headquarters of the National Civic Crusade to arrest five leaders. They later are released and flee the country.
In order to remain in control, Noriega suspended constitutional rights, closed newspapers and radio stations, and drove his political enemies into exile. -
Noriega indicted on drug-trafficking charges
Federal grand juries in Miami and Tampa, Florida, indicted Noriega and 16 of his associates, including leaders of the infamous Medellin narcotics cartel, on drug smuggling and money laundering charges. -
President Devalle is replaced by new president, Manuel Solis Palma.
Noriega demonstrated his defiance by controlling National Assembly and in a special emergency session, replaced the nominal chief of state, President Eric Arturo Delvalle with Manuel Solis Palma, a Noriega crony. Devalle was forced to go into hiding to escape Noreiga's wrath, as he had previously announced that he would dismiss Noriega as defense chief. -
Noriega steals the election
On May 1989, during the Panamanian national elections, an alliance of parties opposed to the Noriega dictatorship counted results from the country's ballot. Their tally showed that Guillermo Endara had defeated Carlos Duque, a candidate of a pro-Noriega coalition, by a margin of nearly 3–1. Endara was physically assaulted by Noriega supporters the next day and Noriega declared the election null and maintained power by force; his government insisting that it had won the presidential election. -
U.S. Marine shot to death at PDF roadblock
That night, four U.S. military personnel were stopped at a roadblock outside PDF headquarters in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City. The PDF opened fire at the unarmed servicemen and off-duty U.S Marine, First Lieutenant Robert Paz was fatally wounded. The next day, President Bush would order the execution of the Panama invasion plan. -
Noriega attacks the United States in inauguration speech
During his inauguration speech, Noriega stated that “relations between the two countries (Panama and the United States) [were] now in a state of war.” (Noriega 1989). “That same day Noriega named himself the Maximum Leader and publicly speculated that someday the “bodies of [his] enemies” would float down the Panama Canal and the people of Panama would win complete control over the waterway” (Cole, Operation Just Cause Panama 1995). -
George W Bush authorized the U.S. invasion of Panama (a.k.a Operation Just Cause) to overthrow Noriega
The government justified their attack with four reasons: safeguard the lives of U.S citizens, combat drug trafficking in Panama, defend democracy and human rights, and prevent Noriega from further action. -
President Bush delivered a state address regarding the situation in Panama.
President Bush delivered a state address regarding the situation in Panama. He announced:
"General Noriega’s reckless threats and attacks upon Americans in Panama created an imminent danger to the 35,000 American citizens in Panama. As President, I have no higher obligation than to safeguard the lives of American citizens. And that is why I directed our Armed Forces to protect the lives of American citizens in Panama and to bring General Noriega to justice in the United States." -
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Invasion of Panama
On December 20, troops joined military personnel already in Panama and were met with scattered resistance from the PDF. The fighting lasted four days and soon they held most of Panama. Endara was made president by U.S forces and the PDF was dissolved. -
The effects of the Invasion - Destruction
It is estimated that approximately 15,000 Panamanians lost their homes and businesses. Panama’s troublesome lack of infrastructure and poor economic conditions were only exacerbated by the U.S. invasion. Not until 1993 did Panama’s GDP return to its pre-invasion level, which was still lower than most of Central America. -
International Outrage
The Invasion of Panama provoked international outrage. Some countries thought that the U.S. had committed an act of aggression by invading Panama and was trying to conceal a new manifestation of its interventionist policy of force in Latin America. On 29 December, the General Assembly of the United Nations condemned the invasion as a flagrant violation of international law. -
Summaries: Causes of Invasion
- Interventionism (long-term cause)
- Noriega’s unwillingness to cooperate with America (short-term)
- the death of a US Marine shot by PDF solders (trigger)
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The effects of the Invasion - Deaths of Civilians.
Only 23 U.S soldiers and three U.S civilians died. However, approximately 300 civilians died while 50 military personnel were killed during the invasion. The U.S. government stated that approximately 1,000 Panamanians were injured, while PHR placed the number closer to 3,000. Furthermore, the number documented only includes Panamanians that sought treatment in hospitals, so it is likely that the number of Panamanian civilians injured during Operation Just Cause was much higher. -
Noriega Surrenders
During the Invasion of Panama, Noriega had escaped but was later captured and found hiding in Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See's embassy in Panama. Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990, and was brought to Miami for trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to forty years in prison along with paying 44 million dollars to the Panamanian government. -
Panamanians' Reactions on the Invasion
Some claim that the Panamanian people overwhelmingly supported the invasion. According to a CBS poll, 92% of Panamanian adults supported the U.S. incursion, and 76% wished that U.S. forces had invaded in October during the coup. However, others disagree with the claim, as the Panamanian surveys were conducted in wealthy, English-speaking neighborhoods in Panama City, among Panamanians most likely to support U.S. actions. Most of the civilia casuaties occurred in the poorer regions of Panama -
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Noriega's trial
Noriega was found guilty on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering. He was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Noriega's U.S. prison sentence ended in September 2007. In 2010, Noriega was sent to France, where he was sentenced to seven years for money laundering. In 2011 France extradited him to Panama, where he was incarcerated for crimes committed during his rule. -
Noriega passes away
After extradition to and incarceration in Panama, Noriga died in a Panama City hospital on May 29, 2017.
