US invasion of Panama
| date | December 20, 1989 to January 3, 1990 |
|---|---|
| place | Panama |
| output | US Forces Victory |
| consequences | The fall of Manuel Noriega's regime |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 27,684+ | 16,000+ |
| losses | |
|
23 dead, |
115–180 dead, |
|
Victims of the Panamanian civilian population: 250 dead (according to US data), 2500 dead (according to UN data) |
|
The US invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) was a military operation by US forces against Panama that lasted from December 20, 1989 to January 3, 1990. The invasion was the largest airborne operation since World War II .
background
The Panama Canal , which connects the Pacific with the Atlantic , makes the region an important strategic area of interest for the United States. In the canal treaties of 1977, the return of the channel is set to Panama in 1999, but with the condition that the channel for American ships remains open. However, after the treaties were signed, US-Panama relations deteriorated. Panama also showed increasing tendencies to evade US influence: the license to operate the WHISC should not be extended. In addition, the Panama Canal was to be expanded by Japanese investors and construction companies, which affected the interests of the US construction company Bechtel Corporation .
Panama was a hub of drug trafficking and money laundering , the commander of the Panamanian National Guard and dictator , Manuel Noriega , it played a central role. In 1986, US media revealed that Noriega had been on the CIA's payroll for at least ten years . Noriega's election campaign was financed by the US government, which continued to provide political cover for him. In return, the CIA turned a blind eye to Noriega doing business with the Medellín cartel , as the United States supplied weapons via Panama to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua who were supposed to overthrow the left-wing Sandinista . Noriega had a lasting influence on the politics of the government that was dependent on him and was de facto state president from 1980 to 1989 , but never the official holder of this office.
In April 1988 President Reagan decided to change his policy towards Noriega. He issued an ordinance freezing all Panamanian government accounts and money transfers to US banks.
In May 1989 there were parliamentary and presidential elections in Panama. Here a coalition of anti-Noriega parties, the Alianza Democrática de Oposición Civilista (ADOC), defeated the pro-Noriega coalition, Coalición Liberal Nacional (COLINA) with a clear majority . The Alliance leader, Guillermo Endara Galimany , was elected President. Noriega, however, did not recognize the result and declared it null and void, which cost him a lot of support from abroad. In response to rising tensions within Panama, a brigade of the 7th US Infantry Division and a battalion of the 5th US Infantry Division were moved to the Panama Canal Zone in May 1989 . Operation Nimrod Dancer was aimed at protecting US citizens in Panama and showing an active military presence in Panama. The Hay Bunau Varilla Treaty gave the US armed forces full freedom of movement within the country, which they used to spy on Panama's armed forces .
On October 3, 1989, there was a military coup against Noriega's regime, which failed. Noriega took this as an opportunity to eliminate his opponents within the armed forces. This unsuccessful coup, together with allegations of inaction against the Bush administration, was eventually used by the US to justify the invasion.
The justification for the military intervention of the United States was the death of the US soldier Robert Paz on December 15, 1989. Paz was traveling privately with three comrades when their car ran into a road block by the Panamanian security forces. The US soldiers, in civilian clothes, refused to leave their vehicle and drove on. The security forces opened fire, and Paz was fatally injured by a bullet.
As Operation name was Just Cause ( German : selected "just cause"), which the military operation should provide a positive painting and appropriate legitimacy. The naming can be seen as a model for other mission names in later US-led wars such as Operation Promote Liberty (military use to stabilize the political situation and reconstruction after the end of the war) or Operation Enduring Freedom (military operations to combat terrorism in Afghanistan , in the Philippines , in states of the Horn of Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries ).
invasion
course
On December 20, 1989, the Joint Task Force led by General Carl Stiner attacked Panama with a strength of approximately 20,000 men under the command of General Maxwell R. Thurman ( Commander-in-Chief of the United States Southern Command ). Within four days, almost all combat operations were with the Panamanian National Guard stopped and Noriega fled to the Nunciature of the Vatican , although granted him asylum, however, suggested him to surrender. After ten days, Noriega surrendered to the US armed forces on January 3, 1990. He was flown to Miami , where he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug trafficking. The sentence was reduced to 30 years in 1999.
The USA dissolved the armed forces, but after looting and chaos resulted in a 13,000-strong force being re-established.
Involved US units (selection)
Joint Task Force South (XVIII Airborne Corps)
- Naval Forces, Panama (NAVFOR)
- Naval Surface Warfare Unit 8
- Naval Security Group ( Galeta Island )
- Air Forces, Panama (AFFOR)
- 830th Air Division
- 1st Special Operations Wing ( AC-130 Gunship )
- 24th Composite Air Wing u. a. with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron (Cessna T-37 | OA-37 Dragonfly)
- 61st Military Airlift Group ( C-130 )
- Marine Forces, Panama (MARFOR)
- Task Force "Semper Fi" u. a. with 6th Marine Expeditionary Battalion and 536th Engineer Battalion
- Army Forces, Panama (ARFOR)
- Task Force Bayonet with parts of the 193rd Infantry Brigade
- Task Force Atlantic with parts of the 3rd Brigades, 7th Infantry Division
- Task Force Aviation with parts of the Aviation Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division
- 82nd Airborne Division with the 1st Brigade and parts of the 1st Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division
- 7th Infantry Division with the 2nd Brigade
- Joint Special Operations Task Force, Panama (JSOTF)
- Task Force Red with the 75th Ranger Regiment
- Task Force Black with the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group
US Special Operations Command South
US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)
Other units were directly subordinate to the Joint Task Force South u. a. 16th Military Police Brigade, 470th and 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, 35th and 1109th Signal Brigade, 1st Support Command, 4th Psychological Operations Group.
consequences
On December 22nd, 1989, the Organization of American States called on the UN to force the United States to withdraw.
On December 23, 1989, the US attack was brought before the United Nations Security Council for condemnation, but this was blocked by the veto of the US, France and the UK. The US justified its military intervention with the restoration of democracy in Panama, the dictator's drug deals and the preservation of the Panama Canal Treaties.
At least 300 civilians were killed and another 15,000 were left homeless during the invasion, according to a report by the Physicians for Human Rights .
According to Pentagon sources, 516 people were killed, and an internal memo by the army speaks of 1,000 dead. An independent committee of inquiry puts the number of those killed at between 1,000 and 4,000. According to the documentary The Panama Deception , the number of deaths is between 3,000 and 4,000.
The US reported the casualties in the Panamanian military as 314 soldiers, but could not be confirmed by the organization. Together with the previous sanctions, the damage is estimated at 2.2 billion US dollars. According to Panamanian information, 115 soldiers died.
According to US military information dated December 25, 1989, 24 US soldiers died and 322 were wounded. On the Panamanian side, 297 people died, 123 were wounded and 468 were taken prisoner by the US. The US forces also confiscated 36 tanks and armed vehicles, 33 aircraft, 7 boats and 77,533 small arms. On January 8, 1990, the US corrected the losses on the Panamanian side to 314 dead.
On May 21, 1990, the Panamanian Department of Health presented new casualties from the US operation Just Cause. After that, 51 uniformed soldiers, 143 identified civilians and 58 unidentifiable civilians died, a total of 252 dead.
During the military action on the morning of December 20, 1989, Guillermo Endara was sworn in as President of Panama at a US military base as the presumed winner of the May 1989 presidential election. The Panamanian electoral tribunal later invalidated the Noriega regime's cancellation of the election and confirmed the victory of the opposition candidates led by President Endara.
Movies
- The Panama Deception (documentary USA 1992, director: Barbara Trent, screenplay: David Kasper)
- Noriega - God's darling or monster? (TV film USA 2000, directed by Roger Spottiswoode , with Bob Hoskins in the role of Manuel Noriegas)
See also
literature
- Bruce W. Watson, Peter Tsouras: Operation Just Cause. Westview Press, 1991.
- Stacy Hagemeister, Jenny Solon: Operation Just Cause: Lessons Learned - Volume I, II & III (Bulletin No. 90-9). Center for Army Lessons Learned - US Army Combined Arms Command , Fort Leavenworth KS 1990.
- Lionel Méndez D'Avila: Invasión USA a Panamá. Modelo para no olvidar y cinco presagios estructurales . Fundación Omar Torrijos, Panamá 1991.
- War against Noriega. For two years, Panama's dictator Noriega successfully defied all attempts by the US to drive him out of office. Now President Bush had 24,000 US soldiers marched in and shelled Panamanian positions. But the attack did not go as planned: Noriega was initially able to get to safety . In: Der Spiegel . No. 52 , 1989 ( online ).
- Blinded by the White House. The media have become tame, the formerly famous American investigative journalism is no longer in demand . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , 1990 ( online ).
- Stephen Kinzer : Overthrow. America's century of regime change from Hawaii to Iraq , New York (Times Books) 2006. ISBN 0-8050-7861-4 . ISBN 978-0-8050-7861-9 , in German translation: Putsch! On the history of American imperialism , Frankfurt am Main (Eichborn) 2007. ISBN 978-3-8218-4587-6 .
Web links
- Operation Just Cause (English)
- The Empowerment Project (English)
- Johanna Lutteroth: US operation against dictator Noriega. "I have Bush by the balls". In 1989 the USA invaded Panama and overthrew dictator Noriega. Officially to protect US citizens. Indeed, the superpower was getting rid of its biggest foreign policy problem - that it had created itself. one day , December 19, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Johanna Lutteroth: US operation against dictator Noriega. "I have Bush by the balls". one day , December 19, 2014.
- ↑ Torrijos-Carter Treaties (Spanish)
- ^ John Pike: Operation Nimrod Dancer. globalsecurity.org, December 30, 2007, accessed on April 27, 2010 : "In April 1988, President Reagan invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, freezing Panamanian Government assets in US banks and prohibiting payments by American agencies, firms, and individuals to the Noriega regime. "
- ^ John Pike: Operation Nimrod Dancer. globalsecurity.org, December 30, 2007, accessed on April 27, 2010 (English): "The soldiers of 1-504th PIR, 5-87th Inf, and 4-6th Inf (M) became expertly familiar with the routes to many key facilities and the plans to secure and protect them in the months leading up to JUST CAUSE. This in-depth knowledge of the roads, PDF security positions and, in many cases, the PDF responses to US movement, was critical to the timing of the initial assaults during darkness on the key targets in Panama City and the Old Canal Zone. "
- ^ The Art of Naming Operations . GlobalSecurity
- ↑ PHR Report Panama: "Operation Just Cause" - The Human Cost of the US Invasion (December 16, 1990)
- ^ John Lindsay-Poland: Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the US in Panama . Duke University Press, Durham 2003, p. 118. ISBN 0-8223-3098-9
- ^ Betty Jean Craige: American Patriotism in a Global Society . State University of New York Press, Albany 1996, p. 187. ISBN 0-7914-2959-8
- ↑ clearing house