AnarWiki/markdown/US_Invasion_of_Panama.md

The **United States Invasion of Panama**, codenamed **Operation Just
Cause**, lasted over a month between [mid-December 1989 and late January
1990](Timeline_of_US_Hegemony "wikilink"). It was done to depose
[Panamanian](Panama "wikilink") dictator Manuel Noriega, a former
[CIA](CIA "wikilink") associated drug trafficker who had recently turned
against the US.

## Background

The US had incorporated Panama into its hegemony in 1903, when it backed
a lot of rebels (some even argued it engineered an entire rebellion)
against [Colombia](Colombia "wikilink") in order to create the Panama
Canal. The US began to maintain numerous military bases and stationed
soldiers in the country. The US assisted then-General Noriega in his
drug trafficking in exchange for his assistance to the [Contras in
Nicaragua](Contra_War_\(Nicaragua\) "wikilink"). Since 1986, the US
began to pressure Panama's government into arresting then-president
Noriega, and he cut off relations to the USA and began to receive
military aid from [Cuba](Cuba "wikilink"),
[Nicaragua](Socialist_Nicaragua "wikilink") and
[Libya](Socialist_Libya "wikilink"). The US attempted a coup in 1988,
and when that failed, the US began to prepare to invade. After Noriega
ignored an election that would have made him los power, the US attempted
another coup. US presidents denied knowledge of drug trafficking to the
media and son several Panamanian soldiers shot a jeep full of US
soldiers. It is not clear who started shooting first, although it also
alleged that Panamanian soldiers threatened to rape the wife of a US
soldier while he was in hospital.

## Events

Beginning at 1am, 27,684 US soldiers and over 300 US planes began to
attack various locations in Panama. Military command centres, the
countries main airport, Noriega's personal residence, prisons, the
Panama Canal and soon began to attack remaining military and civilian
support areas neighbourhood by neighbourhood. The war was over quickly
in just 1 month and 11 days. Between 300 (America Watch) to 3,000 (US
Attorney General Estimates) cilians were killed, with other estimates
citing 500 (UN), 516 (Pentagon), \<600 (Panama's next president) and 673
(Catholic Church) dead.

### Casualties

A U.S. Army M113 in Panama

According to official Pentagon figures, 516 Panamanians were killed
during the invasion; however, an internal U.S. Army memo estimated the
number at 1,000.<sup>\[39\]</sup>

The UN estimated 500 deaths<sup>\[40\]</sup> whereas Americas Watch
found that around 300 civilians died. President Guillermo Endara said
that "less than 600 Panamanians" died during the entire invasion. Former
Attorney General Ramsey Clark estimated 3,000 civilian deaths. Figures
estimating thousands of civilian casualties were widely rejected in
Panama. The Roman Catholic Church estimated that 673 Panamanians were
killed in total. Physicians for Human Rights, said it had received
"reliable reports of more than 100 civilian deaths" that were not
included in the U.S. military estimate but also that there was no
evidence of several thousand civilian deaths.<sup>\[5\]</sup>

Twenty-three U.S. service members were killed<sup>\[41\]</sup> and 325
were wounded. But in June 1990, the U.S. military announced that of the
casualties, 2 dead and 19 wounded were victims of friendly
fire.<sup>\[42\]</sup> The U.S. Southern Command, then based on Quarry
Heights in Panama, estimated the number of Panamanian military dead at
205, lower than its original estimate of 314.

Civilian fatalities included two American school teachers working in
Panama for the Department of Defense Schools. They were Kandi Helin and
Ray Dragseth. Rick Paul, the adult son of another teacher, was also
killed by friendly fire as he ran an American road block. Also killed
was a Spanish freelance press photographer on assignment for *El Pais*,
Juan Antonio Rodriguez Moreno. Rodriguez was killed outside of the
Marriott Hotel in Panama City early on 21 December. In June 1990, his
family filed a claim for wrongful death against the United States
Government.<sup>\[8\]</sup> When the Rodriguez claim was rejected by the
U.S. government, in 1992 the Spanish government sent a Note Verbale
extending diplomatic protection to Rodriguez and demanding compensation
on behalf of his family.<sup>\[43\]\[44\]</sup> However, the U.S.
government again rejected the claim, disputing both its liability for
warzone deaths in general and whether Rodriguez had been killed by U.S.
rather than Panamanian gunfire.<sup>\[43\]</sup>

Human Rights Watch's 1991 report on Panama in the post-invasion
aftermath stated that even with some uncertainties about the scale of
civilian casualties, the figures are "still troublesome" because

### Women's roles in the invasion of Panama

Operation Just Cause involved unprecedented use of U.S. military women
during an invasion. Approximately 600 of the 26,000 U.S. forces involved
in the invasion were women. Women did not serve in direct combat roles
or combat arms units, but they did serve as military police, truck
drivers, helicopter pilots, and in other logistical
roles.<sup>\[46\]</sup> Captain Linda L. Bray, commander of the 988th
Military Police Company of Fort Benning, Georgia, led her troops in a
three-hour firefight against Panamanian Defense Forces who refused to
surrender a dog kennel which (it was later discovered) they were using
to store weapons. Bray was said to be the first woman to lead U.S.
troops in battle and her role in the firefight was widely reported and
led to controversy in the media and in Congress over women's roles in
the U.S. military. Bray requested and received a discharge in
1991.<sup>\[47\]</sup> 1LT Lisa Kutschera and Warrant Officer Debra Mann
piloted UH-60 ("Blackhawk") helicopters ferrying infantry troops. Their
helicopters came under fire during the invasion, and like their male
counterparts, both women were awarded Air Medals for their roles during
the invasion.<sup>\[48\]</sup>

### Origin of the name "Operation Just Cause"

Operation plans directed against Panama evolved from plans designed to
defend the Panama Canal. They became more aggressive as the situation
between the two nations deteriorated. The *Prayer Book* series of plans
included rehearsals for a possible clash (Operation Purple Storm) and
missions to secure U.S. sites (Operation Bushmaster).

Eventually, these plans became *Operation Blue Spoon* which was then, in
order to sustain the perceived legitimacy of the invasion throughout the
operation, renamed by The Pentagon to *Operation Just
Cause*.<sup>\[49\]</sup> General Colin Powell said that he liked the
name because "even our severest critics would have to utter 'Just Cause'
while denouncing us."<sup>\[50\]</sup>

The post-invasion civil-military operation designed to stabilize the
situation, support the U.S.-installed government, and restore basic
services was originally planned as "Operation Blind Logic", but was
renamed "Operation Promote Liberty" by the Pentagon on the eve of the
invasion.<sup>\[51\]</sup>

The original operation, in which U.S. troops were deployed to Panama in
early 1989, was called "Operation Nimrod Dancer".<sup>\[52\]</sup>

## Legality

The US government invoked self-defense as legal justification for its
invasion of Panama.<sup>\[26\]</sup> A number of scholars and observers
have concluded that the invasion was illegal under international law.
The justifications for invading given by the U.S. were, according to
these authorities, factually baseless, and moreover, even if they had
been true they would have provided inadequate support for the invasion
under international law.<sup>\[53\]</sup> Article 2 of the United
Nations Charter, a cornerstone of international law, prohibits the use
of force by member states to settle disputes except in self-defense or
when authorized by the United Nations Security Council. Articles 18 and
20 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, written in
part in reaction to the history of US military interventions in Central
America, also explicitly prohibit the use of force by member states:
"\[n\]o state or group of states has the right to intervene, directly or
indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal affairs of any
other state." (Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS),
Article 18.) Article 20 of the OAS Charter states that "the territory of
a states is inviolable; it may not be the object, even temporarily, of
military occupation or of other measures of force taken by another
state, directly or indirectly, on any grounds
whatever."<sup>\[54\]</sup> The US has ratified the UN Charter and the
OAS Charter and therefore they are among the highest law of the land in
the US under the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution. Other
international law experts who have examined the legal justification of
the US invasion have concluded that it was a "gross violation" of
international law.<sup>\[55\]</sup>

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution strongly
deploring the 1989 U.S. armed invasion of Panama. The resolution
determined that the U.S. invasion was a "flagrant violation of
international law."<sup>\[56\]</sup> A similar resolution proposed in
the United Nations Security Council was supported by the majority of the
Security Council but was vetoed by the US, France and the
UK.<sup>\[57\]</sup>

Independent experts and observers have concluded that the US invasion of
Panama also exceeded the authority of the president under the US
Constitution because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants the
power to declare war solely to the Congress, not to the
president.<sup>\[58\]\[59\]</sup> According to observers, the US
invasion also violated the War Powers Resolution,<sup>\[60\]</sup> a
federal law designed to limit presidential action without Congressional
authorization, because the president failed to consult with Congress
regarding the invasion of Panama prior to the
invasion.<sup>\[61\]\[57\]\[62\]</sup>

## Local and international reactions

The invasion of Panama provoked international outrage. Some countries
charged 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 voted 75–20, with 40 abstentions,
to condemn the invasion as a flagrant violation of international
law.<sup>\[63\]</sup>

On 22 December, the Organization of American States passed a resolution
deploring the invasion and calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops, as
well as a resolution condemning the violation of the diplomatic status
of the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama by U.S. Special Forces who had
entered the building.<sup>\[64\]</sup> At the UN Security Council, after
discussing the issue over several days, seven nations initiated a draft
resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from
Panama<sup>\[65\]</sup> was vetoed on 23 December by three of the
permanent members of the Security Council,<sup>\[66\]</sup> France,
United Kingdom, and the United States, which cited its right of
self-defense of 35,000 Americans present on the Panama
Canal.<sup>\[67\]</sup>

Peru recalled its ambassador from the U.S. in protest of the invasion.

Some claim that the Panamanian people overwhelmingly supported the
invasion.<sup>\[68\]</sup> 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.<sup>\[68\]</sup> The poll was
conducted in 158 randomly selected areas of the country covering about
75 percent of Panama's adult population. CBS News said the margin of
sampling error was plus or minus four percentage
points.<sup>\[69\]</sup> Human Rights Watch described the reaction of
the civilian population to the invasion as "generally
sympathetic".<sup>\[70\]</sup> According to Robert Pastor, a former U.S.
national security advisor, 74% of Americans polled approved of the
action.<sup>\[68\]</sup>

Eighteen years after the invasion, Panama's National Assembly
unanimously declared 20 December 2007 to be a day of national mourning.
The resolution was vetoed by President Martin
Torrijos.<sup>\[71\]\[72\]</sup> On 19 December 2019 the Panamanian
government declared 20 December to be a National Day of Mourning (Dia de
duelo nacional) to be marked by lowering the national flag to half
staff. <sup>\[73\]</sup>

*The Washington Post* disclosed several rulings of the Office of Legal
Counsel, issued shortly before the invasion, regarding the U.S. armed
forces being charged with making an arrest abroad. One ruling
interpreted an executive order which prohibits the assassination of
foreign leaders as suggesting that accidental killings would be
acceptable foreign policy. Another ruling concluded that the Posse
Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits the armed forces from making
arrests without Congressional authorization, is effective only within
the boundaries of the U.S., such that the military could be used as a
police force abroad—for example, in Panama, to enforce a federal court
warrant against Noriega.<sup>\[74\]</sup>

## Aftermath

20,000 were displaced from their homes. Disorder continued for nearly
two weeks.

Guillermo Endara, in hiding, was sworn in as president by a judge on the
night preceding the invasion. In later years, he staged a hunger strike,
calling attention to the poverty and homelessness left in the wake of
both the Noriega years and the destruction caused by the U.S. invasion.

On 19 July 1990, a group of 60 companies with operations in Panama filed
a lawsuit against the U.S. government in Federal District Court in New
York City alleging that the U.S. action against Panama was "done in a
tortuous, careless and negligent manner with disregard for the property
of innocent Panamanian residents". Most of the businesses had insurance,
but the insurers either went bankrupt or refused to pay, claiming that
acts of war were not covered.<sup>\[75\]</sup>

About 20,000 people lost their homes and became refugees as a result of
urban warfare. About 2,700 families that were displaced by the Chorrillo
fire were each given $6,500 by the U.S. to build a new house or
apartment in selected areas in or near the city. However, numerous
problems were reported with the new constructions just two years after
the invasion.<sup>\[76\]</sup>

The government of Guillermo Endara designated the first anniversary of
the U.S. invasion a "national day of reflection". Hundreds of
Panamanians marked the day with a "black march" through the streets of
Panama City to denounce the U.S. invasion and Endara's economic
policies. Protesters echoed claims that 3,000 people were killed as a
result of U.S. military action. Since Noriega's ousting, Panama has had
four presidential elections, with candidates from opposing parties
succeeding each other in the Palacio de las Garzas. Panama's press,
however, is still subject to numerous restrictions.<sup>\[77\]</sup> On
10 February 1990, the Endara government abolished Panama's military and
reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public
Forces. In 1994, a constitutional amendment permanently abolished the
military of Panama. Concurrent with a severe recession in Latin America
throughout the 1990s, Panama's GDP recovered by 1993, but very high
unemployment remained a serious problem.

Noriega was brought to the U.S. to stand trial. He was subsequently
convicted on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money
laundering and sentenced to 40 years in prison. His sentence was later
reduced to 30 years.<sup>\[78\]</sup>

On 20 December 2015, Vice President Isabel De Saint Malo de Alvarado
announced Panama's intention to form a special independent commission
with the aim to publish a truth report to mark the 26th anniversary of
the U.S. invasion of Panama. The commission's goal would be to identify
victims so that reparations could be paid to their families, as well as
to establish public monuments and school curriculums to honor history
and reclaim Panama's collective memory. Victims' families have claimed
that past investigations into the invasion had been funded by Washington
and therefore were biased.<sup>\[79\]\[80\]\[*deprecated source*\]</sup>