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On November 3, 1903 Panama successfully seceded from Columbia. Accepted a deal with the United States and began construction of the Panama canal.
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Construction of Panama Canal is completed in 1914.
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General Omar Torrijos Herrera, the National Guard chief, overthrows the elected president and imposes a dictatorship (1968-81).
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Torrijos dies in plane crash.
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Former intelligence chief and one-time US Central Intelligence Agency informant Manuel Noriega becomes head of the National Guard, builds up the size of the force, which he renames the Panama Defense Forces, and greatly increases its power over Panama's political and economic life.
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88 US charges Noriega with drug smuggling; Noriega declares state of emergency in the wake of a failed coup.
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Opposition wins parliamentary elections, but Noriega declares results invalid. Noriega declares "state of war" in the face of increased threats by Washington. US invades Panama, ousts Noriega and replaces him with Guillermo Endara.
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US court finds Noriega guilty of drug offences and sentences him to 40 years imprisonment, to be served in a US prison.
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Mireya Moscoso becomes Panama's first woman president.
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Panama takes full control of the Panama Canal, ending nearly a century of American jurisdiction over one of the world's most strategic waterways.
