PART FOUR: Force for Liberty or for Oppression? Panama

"The crisis of American foreign policy: Since the second world war, it has been generally assumed by American statesmen and scholars that the United States has “world responsibilities”....In the Cold War, American presence was visualized primarily in military terms. Although economic and political methods were also used, diplomats and the military…since 1945 have believed military power to be both the final arbiter and our trump card in international politics."
Marcus Raskin and Bernard Fall, 1965

US military power has been used to support corporate economic interests in Latin America under the tenets of the Monroe Doctrine. This was clearly evident in the northern sector of Columbia that would become the Republic of Panama.

Under a treaty signed in 1846 between New Grenada and the United States, the US was granted the right to build a railroad across the isthmus and to intervene militarily against any revolts to ensure New Grenadian control in that sector. As the constituent state acquired greater administrative independence, the stage was set for its wealthy elites to welcome a US-supported (instigated?) independence movement. Unlike other places, our interests were perfectly meshed with the 10 extended families that controlled the area that would become Panama in 1903. The US wanted a canal and the local elites wanted power and all the promise of riches that entailed.

“…America’s foreign affairs have been affairs of Pygmalion. We fall in love with what we create. We create a vision of the world made in what we think is our own image. We are proud of what we create because we are certain that our intentions are pure, our motives good, and our behavior virtuous. We know these things to be true because we believe that we are unique among the nations of the world in our collective idealism.”
Backfire, 1985

The sovereign US territory in Panama was the US Canal Zone and those born there often studied in the US and returned to work for the Canal Commission. These “Zonians” as they were called had little to do with Panama; they lived in a separate world. Outside the zone, Panama was ruled by one of the elite followed by another. All the while there was little in the way of a middle-class and conditions outside the capital were classically colonial.

This changed with the rise of Omar Torrijos, a populist with a vision for economic development and a viable middle-class. Lieutenant Colonel Torrijos of the National Guard successfully took power in 1968 and the re-written Constitution of 1972 declared him the “Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution”. The PDF (Panama Defense Forces) was formed and General Torrijos initiated many of his very popular land and social reforms and entitlement programs. While there is debate on the subject, I agree with those who believe that Torrijos would have returned full authority to civilian political leaders in time. Instead, he was assassinated in 1981 and the primary suspect, Manuel Antonio Noriega, took power and expanded his control.

Civilian leadership was window-dressing; Noriega was the de facto dictator of Panama. All business went through him personally or through the political arm of the PDF, the PRD (i.e., the Revolutionary Democratic Party). Noriega was a masterful politician and provocateur. A graduate of the Taiwanese School of Political Warfare, Noriega’s most successful operation had been to convince President Carter that the Panamanian people would turn against the US if the Canal was not “returned” to Panama. As the head of PDF Intelligence, the public protests and riots were totally contrived and were misinterpreted by US policymakers. He later diversified his activities becoming the agent for the Colombian drug cartels, the CIA and Cuba. He played both sides against the middle primarily through deception and manipulation. The popular expression was that while Torrijos would dance with the devil, Noriega got into bed with the devil, instead.

In September 1985 Noriega had opposition leader Hugo Spadafora tortured and killed. The barbaric killing of the popular and charismatic Spadafora marked the start of a popular movement that destroyed both Noriega and his PDF. On December 19, 1989 Operation Just Cause was initiated and Noriega was arrested, tried and convicted. The PDF was disbanded and civilian rule restored. While the media focused on conventional operations and rock n’ roll at the Catholic Nunciatura (Vatican Embassy), the untold story remains the groundwork laid by the special operations community.

As the 20th Century came to a close so did the remarkably close ties between Panama and the US. All US bases were closed and the Panama Canal Commission was placed under the full control of Panama. The fears of mismanagement proved unwarranted and Panama’s economy has continued to expand, to include the current expansion of the Canal itself. For now Panama continues to enjoy a vibrant economy and represents the only valid model for other Central American nations to consider.