REPUBLIC OF PANAMA

MINISTERY OF EDUCATION
SOYUZ BILINGUAL SCHOOL

WORLD HISTORY

“UNITED STATES INVASION OF PANAMA”

NAMES:

DIEGO CEDEÑO

MARIAGNA JIMENEZ

LIDIA CASTRO

KIMBERLY GUTIERREZ

JORGE FIGUEIREDO

PROFESSOR:

RICARDO MORENO

2019
 BACKGROUND

Panama lived a dictature that covered the period from October 11, 1968 to December 20, 1989.

In the 1980s, Panama was a country of great significance to the US mainly due to the presence of

the Panama Canal, a critical shipping route for American ships. The Panama Canal, which had

been constructed primarily by the US government, was partially under the control of the Panama

government with a plan for it to be fully handed over to the Latin American country by the year

2000.

The General Manuel Antonio Noriega was a disastrous character whose excesses were drug

trafficking, money laundering and murder. During his stay he committed acts that greatly

affected citizens.

In 1989 Noriega refused to recognize the triumph of President Guillermo Endara Galimany, he

sent to repress them along with the Second Vice President-elected Guillermo Ford when they

were in a caravan proclaiming their triumph.

The US invasion to Panama in 1989 was a military operation of the United States Army. It was

carried out between December 20, 1989 and January 31, 1990 with the purpose of capturing

General Manuel Antonio Noriega, who was required by the US justice for the crime of drug

trafficking, as well as neutralize the Panama Defense Forces.

On December 20th, 1989, President Bush launched a military operation code-named “Operation

Just Cause” to topple the dictatorial government of Manuel Noriega in Panama. The invasion

involved about 24,000 US troops who had orders to oust the leader and execute a warrant for his

arrest.
On the same day, while the Americans bombarded different points of the Panamanian capital,

Endara was sworn in as Constitutional President of Panama at a ceremony held inside a US

military base, located in the Canal Zone.

 PROBLEM STATEMENT

On December 20th, 1989 United States of America invaded Panama with the excuse and mission

of capturing the dictator of Panama, Manuel Antonio Noriega. According to the US, Noriega was

guilty of declaring the war against the North American country after he gave a lecture in Atlapa

Center with a knife on his hand and rising it upon the air. Also, Noriega was guilty of drug

trafficking around the world with the help of Pablo Escobar and killing thousands of people in

order to keep them silent.

 JUSTIFICATION

The United States Invasion of Panama was an event that happened in the last century,

more specifically on December 20th, 1989. The main reason of this attack was to capture Manuel

Antonio Noriega, but during the mission United States destroyed the capital city and killed

thousands of people. This was the worst massacre in Panama and because of all the pain caused

by United States this day should be remembered forever. The amount of lives that were taken on

this day, the after problems that followed the country and its economy and specially, the

government not acknowledging the things that happen during this day. Also, for not letting this

event or circumstance take place again in Panama we need to understand why it was so tragic.
 OBJECTIVES

·         General objective:

-          Recognize the impact of the invasion on Panamanians and become aware of it.

·         Specifics:

-          Preventing a dictatorship in the country and keeping the democratic system.

-          Show people how the invasion occurs and acknowledging the relevance of this incident. 
 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Why did the United States of America decided to invade Panama on December 20 th,

1989?
 HYPOTHESIS

In the hypothesis Panama was invaded in 1989 by causes of people who failed to manage

the country in a good way and caused the beautiful country of Panama to be exposed to problems

that never had to occur. General Manuel Antonio Noriega was the princely cause that the United

States inadvertent Panama in search of the preservation of rights and that the dictatorship was

finished and the general was imprisoned and in extreme cases that killed him.

Panama was invaded by the US because they wanted to capture Manuel Antonio Noriega, the

dictator of Panama.
 DATA RESEARCHED

NAME: LIDIA ATENCIO HERNANDEZ

WAS THE INVASION NECCESARY?

It destroyed a lot of things, but I think it was necessary.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY, WHY?

No, I don’t think it should be a Memorial Day, it was a very important moment and critic, but I

know people won’t take it seriously.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

We did not have money in any place, and supermarkets were almost empty. In Herrera and

Veraguas, where I used to live in, things were easier than in the capital but still hard because

people did not get money enough.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

It was an attack that US did to Panama, it was horrible, and thousands of people died and others

lost their houses and big parts of the capital got destroyed.

WHY DID USA INVADE PANAMA?

Because they wanted to capture Manuel Noriega that was the dictator of Panama.

NAME: MAGALIS CASTRO

WAS THE INVASION NECCESARY?

At that time the Panamanian thought the invasion was necessary because we could not fight

against the dictator. Most of us think that the invasion was the best option to come back to have

democracy in our country.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY, WHY?

Yes, it should because many Panamanians died that day. Also, we cannot allow that to happen

again in our country.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

The economy was very slow, many people lost their jobs. We did not have dollars. Many

companies closed and some banks closed as well.

The USA made an economy block against our country.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

The invasion was sad because many innocent people died in the Chorrillo. Other people lost their

business. The American soldiers took all the Panamanian headquarters. They had the control of

the country for several days. There were many lootings during the invasion.

WHY DID USA INVADE PANAMA?

American soldiers invaded Panama because the dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega. He was a

terrible dictator, he killed people and many political opponents were sent to jail. He also killed

Panamanian soldiers when they did not agree with him. He also was a drug trafficker. He sold a

lot of drugs. They invaded Panama to reestablish democracy in our country and they captured an

important member of the drug trafficking.

NAME: ELADIO CASTRO

WAS THE INVASION NECCESARY?

I believe that the invasion was necessary because we were living under the power of many

politicians like Balbina Herrera, who did not care about killing people just to keep the power

they had. During the invasion, many innocent people died, but that was the price we had to pay

to be free.

SHOULD THE DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY, WHY?

I think it should be a Memorial Day like January 9th, but no one wants to take on the situation

because declaring this day a Memorial Day would be like admitting that what was going on the

country was right and not a big problem. To this point any government wants to assume the

problem because most of the people that died during the attack knew what they were doing and

what could happen. PRD that owns the government right now and used to have the power during

the invasion do not want to get involve. The truth is that innocent people died but the ones who

ask for a Memorial Day are the wives or children of the soldiers of Noriega and they knew what

could happen if they were by Noriega’s side.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

We did not have dollars; the economy was suffering for two years ago. There was not new

money at all and most of the bills and coins were damaged. It was really hard living in Panama

during these years, it was not impossible to survive but it was difficult. USA was not sending

money to our country because of the economy block.

WHY DID USA INVADE PANAMA?

It happened at 12:01 am on December 20th, 1989. They invaded and attacked all the airports, so

that no one could escape. After that they took over of Americas’ bridge and the invasion started

trying to find Manuel Noriega. They destroyed the military headquarters while the Chorrillo was

burnt entirely. The battle lasted around 5-6 days, San Miguelito headquarter, and the airports

were the hardest to take on. The battle of the cavalry headquarters closes to Panama Viejo, some

American soldiers died, and a helicopter fell off. USA invaded Panama because they said that

Noriega declared war against USA in a speech, he was giving in Atlapa with a knife on his hand

and apparently Panamanian soldiers killed an American couple.

NAME: EVELIA VARGAS

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

Yes, it was necessary to end the dictatorship of Noriega and to make Panama become a

democratic country.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? WHY?

Yes, it should be a Memorial Day because we should honor the memory of many innocent

people that died unfairly that day

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

The economy of our country was decreasing and becoming worse

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

That it was one of the most important events in the history of Panama, and a horrible experience

for our country even though it was necessary for getting democracy.

WHY DID U.S.A INVADE PANAMA?

To overthrow the unfair power of the dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega.

NAME: MARISÍN VARGAS

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

Capturing General Noriega was necessary, what was not necessary was to kill too many

innocent people

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? WHY?

Yes, it should be a Memorial Day in honor of all the innocent people that died during the attack

of United States military forces.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

The economy of the country was broke, the money even stopped circulating in the streets, and

many people had to steal food from stores to survive.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

The invasion of United States was a big hit to Panama, they used to call it “operation just cause”,

but it was not just because they unnecessarily killed many innocent citizens.

They catch Noriega that was the principal objective, but also used the invasion to “prove” their

power

WHY DID U.S.A INVADE PANAMA?

The principal reason of why U.S.A invaded Panama was to catch Manuel Antonio Noriega and

to stop the dictature in which the General had our country.

a.Woman(46) b. Man(51)

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

a. I think that no

b. Obviously no

SHOULD DECEMBER 20 BE A MEMORIAL DAY?

a. Yes, because a lot of people day in that day and we need to remember this.

b. Yes, a lot of people Die, but personally I think that the crisis that the country suffer

needs to be remembered to not do the same thing again.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

a. People need to exchange things to eat or to live, also we exchange personal products

or clothes.

b. Many people were homeless, and the stores stop selling things. Also, a lot of people

stop working and there was no money.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

a. What I know about the invasion is that it was necessary to overthrow Noriega from

power, so the United States intervened in this.

b. What is currently about the invasion is that the main cause of this event was the fact

that the country lived for many years a dictatorship by Noriega and it was about

ending this system of government.

WHY DID U.S.A INVADED PANAMA?

 a. I think the United States invaded panama because this country wanted Noriega not to

continue to control panama.

b. The United States invaded Panama because it was known that General Noriega had

neutralized the panama forces and had worked with drug trafficking throughout the

country. Apart from this it is known that the United States wanted to protect the

American population that they receive in panama.

FEMALE, 54 YEARS

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

= Yes, because it was the only way to fracture the military (distraction) and Noriega.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? YES, OR NOT, WHY?

= It does not have to be a day of reflection, and we are subject, and the day of national

mourning should not happen.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

= Bad, very bad there was no cash, you had to pay with bonuses or with food and clothing.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

= That was a just cause, because it made our country flowers the democracies and having

freedom of expression.

WHY DID U.S.A INVADE PANAMA?

= It was at the request of a group of people who demand justice requesting support from the USA

to intervene in the country.

MALE, 56 YEARS

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

= Not because the U.S. could have captured Noriega directly, and imprisoned the entire

dictatorial team and established a democratic government.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? YES, OR NOT, WHY?

= No, it must be a day of reflection only, to date, unless citizens realize that it really is a day of

mourning and not of recreation, because we are sure that this would be taken and not as a day of

mourning.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

= Bad, to the point where all bank funds were freezing.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

= It was because all human rights had already been violated and additional because the

dictatorial government of the Republic of Panama clearly supported the drug trafficking.

WHY DID U.S.A INVADE PANAMA?

= The main reason for the invasion feared losing control of the Panama Canal.

ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

NO, I think that not because of that military operation it could have been avoided, so that to

capture a hobby a country and its economy were destroyed.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? YES, OR NO, WHY?

YES, Because it is necessary for all Panamanians, youth and adults to know those events that

took place in Panama and never forget the damage that we Panamanians and the economy suffer.

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

We were, with shops assaulted without water, without food, without light, it was disastrous,

our country suffered the most serious consequences of that invasion, it should never have

occurred.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

Here in La Arena that was to be feared, we saw some men called CODEPADI, who belonged

to the group that defended Noriega, we had to hide, they were armed, we had to buy food and

send family and friends in Panama, they were worse there

WHY DID U.S.A., INVADE PANAMA?

Because he wanted to capture General Manuel Antonio Noriega, military ruler of Panama

who was required by justice.

ADRIANA DE FIGUEIREDO

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

 I think not, I belonged to the civility crusade as an educator and we were fighting to

get Noriega out of the defense forces, but he caused the United States to intervene and

many innocents to die. This invasion of Panama is unforgivable...

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? YES, OR NO, WHY?

Because it was an event that causes an unscrupulous military and CIA agents, and it is

necessary that every 20 of December every Panamanian remember that our country

never deserved this destruction, and that the story "never again"

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

The most affected shops were those of the Capital where people, agglomerated to

steal everything, food, electrical appliances, furniture jewelry etc.

Here in Chitré we could still get to eat, and we had to send to the relatives of the

capital, because they did not have anywhere to buy food.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

Well, a lot, I lived as a member of the civility crusade, we went out to protest to

overthrow Noriega, who didn't give us our salary, they paid us with bonuses and

many times we didn't have any other needs. The United States was not interested in

the pain of the people, they wanted Noriega. We went out to the callers and threw tear

bombs at us, the guard went against the town, and those years of Noriega were very

difficult for education.

WHY DID U.S.A., INVADE PANAMA?

 To control the drug trafficker Represented by Noriega and restore the democracy in

Panama that was being lost.

ANDRES GONZALEZ.

WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

It was not necessary because what the people had to do was to finish and kill that evil

Noriega.

SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? YES, OR NO, WHY

The governments must meet and make a recognition on that day, that so much pain

and destruction left the Panamanian people. Let us think about everything that

happened and be known as our country rose from such a blow by a man called

pineapple face

HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE INVASION?

It brought a great economic crisis so the shops were assaulted, there was no control,

only destruction in the capital especially, here inside we were a little better, at least

there was no assault and food was obtained. Panama during the invasion experienced

the toughest economic crisis in history.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

I am going to tell you the same truth, I sat in my home of the defeated and there was

no more topic than if the United States, that if Noriega, that if the invasion, that was

the most talked about topic and I knew a lot about the stations that worked in Chitre.

WHY DID U.S.A., INVADE PANAMA?

United States invaded Panama because they want to capture Noriega and give her

punishment, that's why he was taken to the United States, as a prisoner of war.
 METHODOLOGY

The methodology we used were the interviews and watch videos about how Panama was

invaded.
 POPULATION DATA

1. WAS THE INVASION NECESSARY?

YES NO
5 7

2. SHOULD DECEMBER 20TH BE A MEMORIAL DAY? YES

OR NO
YES NO
8 4

3. HOW WAS THE ECONOMY DURING THE

INVASION?
GOOD BAD
0 12

4. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INVASION?

ALMOST OF THINGS /SOME ALMOST NOTHING
THINGS

9 3

5. WHY DID USA INVADED PANAMA?

CAPTURE MANUEL ANTONIO JUST WANTED TO ATTACK THE
NORIEGA COUNTRY AND TRY BOMBS

12 0
 COMPARISON AND RESULTS

1. Was the invasion necessary?

The interviewed people said that it was necessary, but that the US could had done it

without killing innocent individuals.

We consider that the invasion was necessary because it was the only way to get back the

democracy in our country even though there well many people killed.

2. Should December 20th be a Memorial Day?

The interviewed people had split opinions, some said that it should be a Memorial Day

and others said it should not.

Our group is split as well, some think that it should be a Memorial Day and others say

that it should not.

3. How was the economic during the invasion?

The interviewed people said that the economy was suffering totally, there was not money

anywhere.

From what we could read and see in the videos, we realized that the country was dying

because we did not have money.

4. What do you know about the invasion?

The interviewed people said that the invasion was an attack in Panama in other to capture

Manuel Noriega and in the action, tons of people died.

We, after reading and researching on internet, we learnt that the invasion was the way the

US tried to capture our dictator because apparently, he declared war against the US.

5. Why did USA invaded Panama?

The interviewed people said that it was because they wanted to capture Manuel Noriega.
According to our research, we found that capturing Manuel Antonio Noriega was the

main reason for the US attacking Panama.

 CONCLUSION

We talked about the period from October 11, 1986 to December 20, 1989, where we were

governed by a military group. At this period, its defenders called it a revolutionary process and

the rest of the Panamanians called it the military dictatorship. It all begins with the coup d'état

given to the constitutional president Arnulfo Arias Madrid, carried out by the military Boris

Martinez, Omar Torrijos and other officers and ends with the fall of the dictatorship of Manuel

Antonio Noriega in the wake of the terrible and unnecessary invasion of the United States to

Panama.

The events of the invasion must be remembered so that our future generations can know about

how these times were lived and how the changes that occurred affected us all as a country.

Likewise, in doing this work we are learning more about our country and the history that our

ancestors lived, so that we can use our knowledge to never make the same mistakes of the past

again.

Now that we know how everything was played and how much the population of panama suffered

for years without being able to change. Our job is to protect our democracy and do not let anyone

come and do the same to us, that’s our duty as the children of the the people who died and

suffered thanks to the dictatorship and invasion.