United States invasion of Panama

Battle context

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.