United States invasion of Panama

Overview

The United States invasion of Panama began in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking. The operation, codenamed Operation Just Cause, concluded in late January 1990 with the surrender of Noriega. The Panama Defense Forces (PDF) were dissolved, and president-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Operation Just Cause, launched in December 1989 under President George H. W. Bush, removed Panamanian de facto ruler General Manuel Noriega, who faced U.S. charges of racketeering and drug trafficking. A U.S. force of 27,000 confronted approximately 16,000 Panamanian Defense Forces personnel, resulting in 1,908 Panamanian casualties. Noriega surrendered in late January 1990, the PDF was dissolved, and president-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office. Within the late Cold War context, the operation demonstrated U.S. willingness to conduct unilateral military action in Latin America to enforce legal and strategic objectives, marking one of the largest U.S. combat deployments in the Western Hemisphere since the Vietnam era.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (13)