4/5/2011

POLS 4339: U.S.-Latin American

Relations
Professor Schmidt
Spring 2011

April 6: Bush and the Invasion of

Panama (Study Guide 25)

This material will be on the second

exam.

(Q1) Background

• Panama’s very existence is due to U.S.

• Relatively prosperous

• But widespread resentment

• Also major class and racial cleavages:

 Small mostly white elite: cosmopolitan & wealthy

Black and indigenous majority

(Q2) In 1968 General Omar Torrijos took power.

• Reformist military not tied to traditional elite.

• Paid particular attention to people outside of major cities.

• His major accomplishment was the negotiation of the

Panama Canal Treaty (1977).

 Specter of riots during the 1960s.

 Temporary seat on U.N. Security Council.

 Expanded ties to Cuba.

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(Q3) Manuel Noriega:

• Protégé of Torrijos

• Chief of intelligence

• Torrijos killed in suspicious plane crash 1981

• Noriega gained control of National Guard (renamed

Panamanian Defense Forces) in 1983.

• Became de facto ruler of Panama.

• Populist political orientation like Torrijos

Links to U.S.

• Evidence that on CIA payroll in 1970s

• Cooperated with Reagan against Sandinistas in Nicaragua

during 1980s.

• Also became involved in money laundering and with

Medellín cartel in 1980s.

• The U.S. tolerated these illicit activities in exchange for

support of its anti-communist policies.

(Q3) Estrangement from the U.S.

•1987 denounced by second-in-command (Gen. Roberto Díaz
Herrera) for electoral fraud, corruption, assassination of
opponents.
• 1988 indicted by U.S. grand jury for protecting Medellín
cartel.
X

• Shortly after the indictment, President Eric Arturo Delvalle

dismissed Noriega from command of PDF; Delvalle soon
replaced by pro-Noriega legislature.

All of this happened as the Cold War was coming to an end,

making Noriega expendable.

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U.S. Sanctions Against Noriega:

• Continued to recognize Delvalle government.

• U.S. payments deposited in escrow.

Panamanian GDP contracts by 15.8% in 1988.

Sanctions very effective because Panama so dependent.

There were also covert CIA plots against Noriega.

(Q5) The Panamanian President Election (May 1989)

• Quick count: Carlos Duque (pro-Noriega) lost to Guillermo

Endara (opposition) 3:1

• Official results favored Noriega

• Opposition denounced fraud, calls for international

intervention

• “Dignity Battalions” went on rampage; beat up the

opposition vice-presidential candidate, Billy Ford.

Reaction of the OAS

• Denounced result but reluctant to support military

intervention

• Dispatched mission to negotiate a peaceful transition of

power

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(Q6) December 1989

• Noriega formally became president (12-15-89)

• National Assembly declared war on U.S. (12-15-89)

• Panamanian Defense Force fired on U.S. officers, killing 1

(12-16-89)

U.S. invaded (12-20-89)

Note the different takes on Bush by Weeks (overcoming “the

wimp factor”) and Robert Pastor in video (pushed to invade).

The Invasion
• 23 U.S. soldiers killed
• Civilian death toll probably higher than official figures
According to U.S. 202 Panamanian civilians killed
Probably at least 300
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark at least a
thousand
Some slum areas (Chorillo & San Miguelito) were bombed

• Condemned by most Latin American countries, the OAS, and

the UN.

• Noriega surrounded in Papal Nuncio and surrendered after

psychological pressure (see video).

(Q7) Impacts
• Popular in U.S.; very unpopular in Latin America
• Minimal impact on illicit drugs
• Economic recovery; international trade center
• Successful transfer of canal

Panamanian democracy did become broader and more

institutionalized:
• Mireya Moscoso (1999)
• Martin Torrijos (2004)
• Ricardo Martinelli (2009)

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(Q8) Legacy of the Cold War (Discussion)