Panama: Crossroads of Empires · Episode 15 of 24 · 25 min
Operation Just Cause: The 1989 Invasion of Panama and Its Contested Toll
On December 20, 1989, about 27,000 U.S. troops invaded Panama to capture Manuel Noriega, the largest U.S. combat operation since Vietnam. The episode covers the failed Giroldi coup, the killing of Lt. Robert Paz, the rescue of Kurt Muse and the burning of El Chorrillo. It also lays out the disputed death toll.
Who's who
- Manuel Noriega+1 more episodePanamanian dictator and target of the invasion
- George H. W. Bush+2 more episodesU.S. President who ordered the invasion
- Guillermo Endara+1 more episodeWon the annulled 1989 election; sworn in as the invasion began
- Guillermo FordVice-presidential candidate beaten by Dignity Battalions on live TV
- Moisés GiroldiLed the failed October 1989 coup; executed
- Robert PazU.S. Marine lieutenant killed at a roadblock December 16, 1989
- Kurt MuseAmerican pirate-radio operator rescued by Delta Force
- Ramsey ClarkLed a commission that estimated over 3,000 deaths
Where it happens
- El Chorrillo, Panama CityCrowded neighborhood consumed by fire, called 'Little Hiroshima'
- Comandancia, Panama CityDefense Forces headquarters, hit in the invasion
- Vatican Nunciature, Panama CityWhere Noriega took refuge and the rock-music siege occurred
Timeline
- February 1988U.S. grand juries indict Noriega
- October 3, 1989Giroldi coup briefly seizes Noriega, then collapses
- December 16, 1989Lt. Robert Paz killed; Bush orders invasion
- December 20, 1989Operation Just Cause begins; Kurt Muse rescued
- December 24, 1989Noriega enters the Vatican nunciature
- January 3, 1990Noriega surrenders and is flown to Miami
Still debated
The civilian death toll is the central dispute: U.S. officials counted roughly 200-300 civilians, Physicians for Human Rights found most dead were civilians, and the Ramsey Clark commission estimated over 3,000. The UN General Assembly and OAS condemned the invasion as illegal, while the U.S. cited protecting citizens and the indictment.
← PreviousThe Rise of Noriega: The CIA's Man Who Became America's Most WantedNext →The Turnover: The Day Panama Took Back Its Canal and Proved the World Wrong
