December 20 – Day of Mourning in Panama

nPostednon December 20, 2015

nHerenis yet another tricky historical event.

nOnnthis date in 1989, the United States invaded Panama and arrestedndictator Manuel Noriega on drug charges.

nTherenwere good motivations and results for the invasion, and badnmotivations and results. And the lists would be different dependingnon who you talk to.

nSo…wasnthe invasion a good thing or a bad thing?

nAnd,nIF the idea behind the invasion was good, was it done in a good way?

Whon(in Panama): Manuel Noriega had been a valuable source ofnintelligence for the U.S. CIA, but he was also a big-time drugndealer. He grabbed control of Panama through military force,nincluding manipulating the results of a 1984 presidential electionnand probably ordering the murder of at least one political opponent.

nWhon(in the U.S.): Once Noriega was no longer useful to U.S. interests,nPresident Reagan tried to pressure him into stepping down from power.nNoriega didn’t. After Reagan’s two terms were over, President GeorgenH. W. Bush ordered the U.S. invasion of Panama to arrest Noriega.

nWhen:nDecember 20, 1989, 1:00 a.m., local time.

nWhat:nMore than 300 aircraft and over 27,000 troops swarmed over strategicnlocations such as airports and a garrison. They destroyed Noriega’snprivate jet and sank his boat. Noriega took refuge at the Vatican’snmission in Panama City, but the U.S. blasted the area with loudnrock-and-roll music, day and night, and eventually Noriegansurrendered!

nOfnthe United States’ tens of thousands of troops, 23 were killed.nUnfortunately, the death toll was higher for Panamanians. Somewherenbetween 470 and 1,000 Panamanians died.

nAlsonunfortunately, the attack on the headquarters of Noriega’s armynstarted several fires – and the fires spread to other, non-militarynlocation. A heavily populated neighborhood in downtown Panama Citynburned down, and at least 20,000 Panamanians found themselvesnhomeless. I read that the U.S. gave each family from thatnneighborhood $6,500 to build a new house or apartment—but the newnconstruction of homes didn’t go smoothly, and there continued to benproblems.

nManynbusiness owners – even the ones with insurance! – lost theirnlivelihood. Apparently, many insurance companies went out ofnbusiness, so they couldn’t pay out for the losses, and the insurancencompanies that stayed in business didn’t pay out because, they said,ntheir customers weren’t covered for “acts of war.” (Sigh!) Angroup of 60 companies based in Panama filed a lawsuit against thenU.S. government for carelessness that disregarded the property ofninnocent Panamanian residents. n

nWherenis Noriega now?

nInn1992, Manuel Noriega stood trial in the U.S. on drug charges, and henwas sentenced to 40 years in prison, later reduced to 30 years andnthen, even later, for 17 years (for good behavior). In 2007 he wasnreleased.

nWhilenNoriega was busy being imprisoned in the U.S., he had been tried andnconvicted in France in absentia for money laundering, so henwas extradited to France. The French gave him a new trial, and he wasnconvicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. Also, millions ofnEuros that had been frozen for years in Noriega’s French banknaccounts were seized.

nBeforenNoriega could serve all seven years in a French prison, he wasnextradited to Panama to face trial for murder and human rightsnviolations. He was sent to a prison in Panama in late 2011. He isnsupposed to serve a 20-year sentence there.

nNow,nabout that “Day of Mourning”…

These paper lanterns commemorate
the innocent victims who fell on this date
in 1989.

nEvennthough several polls showed that some Panamanians, at least,nsupported the U.S. invasion and were happy to be rid of Noriega,nobviously many Panamanians were upset at the loss of people andnproperty . In 2007, Panama’s legislature voted unanimously toncommemorate December 20 as a national Day of Mourning. But thenresolution was vetoed by the president of Panama, President Torrijos.

nWhat do you think?

nHopefully you realize that the events leading up to, during, and after the U.S. invasion of Panama are very complex, and there isn’t one easy, simple answer to the question of what happened or should have happened differently. You can be sure that the U.S. deserves some blame for the bad results of the invasion!

nIn the meantime…

nToday’s world holiday was depressing and depressingly complicated, so I thought I would end with something much simpler and much more peaceful and nice:

nSome photos of Panama NOT at war: