Western Hemisphere 31
sanctions, blocked the Panama government’s assets, and forbade American companies
from paying taxes to the Panamanian government.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from September 24, 1987.
MID#3901
Dispute Number: 3901
Date(s): November 13, 1988 to January 3, 1990
Participants: 95 Panama/2 United States of America
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side B (Imposed)
Fatalities: 101–250 deaths
Narrative: The United States invaded Panama in 1989 to remove Manuel Noriega as
head of state. Noriega was previously paid by the US Central Intelligence Agency as
part of its drug war and was utilized by the American government to quell socialist
and Communist influences in the area. However, multiple issues turned the United
States against him. First, Noriega used domestic turmoil in Panama to gain power
using violence and rigged elections. Second, the US Department of Justice indicted
him for drug trafficking, and Noriega began harassing US nationals in Panama.
Finally, the domestic political situation for new US President George H. W. Bush
helped make the decision to remove Noriega from his post.
The dispute began when Panamanian Defense Forces attacked an American sailor
on November 13, 1988. The United States quickly protested, though the wheels were
set in motion for a forceful solution to the Noriega issue when George H. W. Bush had
won his presidential election on a campaign of a war against drugs. During the elec-
tion campaign, Bush had publicly committed himself to honoring the Department of
Justice’s indictments of Noriega in Florida and refused any “golden parachute” deal that
was being proposed by most of the Reagan administration (including Reagan himself).
The situation deteriorated further after the clumsily handled Giroldi coup attempt by the
United States in October. The United States had experimented with orchestrating another
PDF coup, but quickly realized the failure of the Giroldi coup led to a significant purge
of disloyal PDF personnel. In short, no action outside of direct action against Noriega
would result in his removal from office in Panama. With attacks against US nationals
in Panama intensifying and resulting in graphic reports in the United States, the Bush
administration convened on December 17 and began Operation Just Cause. The United
States had mostly completed the invasion by December 20, and Noriega surrendered to
US forces on January 3, 1990. The United States had toppled the PDF, captured Noriega,
and installed a politician friendly to US interests as the new Panamanian head of state.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from January 12, 1989; End Date changed from
December 22, 1989.
2 United States of America/100 Colombia
MID#1524
Dispute Number: 1524
Date(s): August 4, 1834