drugs through Panama and into the United States,
among other nations. Noriega had retained power
despite the results of two presidential elections.
When it became clear that his candidate would lose
an election in 1984, Noriega had halted the count
long enough to manipulate the tally. In 1989, unable
to rig another election before the accurate results
were made public, Noriega invalidated those results
and appointed an acting president of his choosing.
On the basis of the 1989 election results, however,
the United States recognized Guillermo Endara as
the president of Panama.
Threats were made against American interests in
the Panama Canal Zone, and finally one United
States soldier was killed in Panama City on December
16, 1989. While the soldier may have been in Panama
City on a mission to incite an incident to facilitate
American military action, his death still caused major
problems between the two nations. It was at this point
that President George H. W. Bush decided that it was
time for action against Panama. Bush had a variety of
reasons for the invasion, including protecting Ameri-
cans in Panama, halting Panamanian drug traffick-
ing, protecting U.S. positions in the Canal Zone, and
helping restore democracy in Panama. In addition,
Noriega would later claim that Oliver North asked
him to provide military aid to the Nicaraguan Con-
tras and that his refusal to do so was a precipitating
cause of the invasion.The Invasion Begins On December 20, 1989, the
invasion of Panama began. Operation Just Cause was
carried out by a variety of units of the U.S. armed
forces. These units included parts of the Eighty-
second Airborne Division, the Seventy-fifth Ranger
Regiment, the Seventh Infantry Division, the Fifth
Infantry Division, and some Marine units. Nearly
twenty-eight thousand troops were involved in all,
supported by the U.S. Air Force. Their goals were to
neutralize the Panamanian Defense Force, secure
the country, and capture Manuel Noriega. Most of
the military action that took place during the inva-746 Panama invasion The Eighties in America
Flames erupt as a result of combat between U.S. and Panamanian troops during the invasion of Panama in December, 1989.(U.S. De-
partment of Defense)