A nice historical synopsis of the Country of Panama from Lonely Planet. Does this stike anyone as being oddly familiar?
General Manuel Noriega took control of the country in 1984. A former head of Panama's secret police and a CIA operative, Noriega became a demagogic bogeyman. Murdering political opponents, quashing democracy, drug trafficking and money laundering were his principal concerns during the 1980s, activities which eventually attracted US sanctions and the freezing of Panamanian assets. When the winning candidate of the 1989 presidential election was beaten to a pulp on national TV and the election declared null and void, Noriega's regime became an international embarrassment. Noriega appointed himself head of government on 15 December 1989 and announced that Panama was at war with the USA. The following day an unarmed US soldier dressed in civilian clothes was killed by Panamanian soldiers - or so the Pentagon claimed. The Panamanian version of events was that the soldier was not only armed but that he had shot and injured three civilians before running a roadblock.
Since US forces had for months been itching for a pretext to attack, this was more than enough reason to call in 26,000 troops for 'Operation Just Cause'. The invasion, the intention of which was to bring Noriega to justice and create a democracy better suited to US interests, left more than 2000 civilians dead and thousands more homeless. Noriega escaped capture by US troops for six days by claiming asylum in the Vatican embassy. US forces surrounded the embassy and pressured the Vatican to release him. They memorably used that psychological tactic beloved of disgruntled teenagers and bombarded the embassy with blaring, devilish, rock music to psychologically wear down those inside. It worked (as any parent knows); Noriega was sent to the US, where he was convicted on money laundering charges; he is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence in Florida.
